Humiliation
by Miyuki Wynter
Summary: He was stuck handcuffed in the middle of the sidewalk.  As if that wasn't bad enough, Izaya was also completely naked. Sick!Izaya. Shizaya. Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! I'm back! :D I guess you could say this is my birthday present for Shizuo… I'm such a bad fan… I don't have time to start a drawing for Shizuo's birthday, but I do have time to start uploading this! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHIZUO! 1/28!  
>So, I was lurking around the kink meme, and I came across a prompt that wanted a Shizaya fic based off of this picture: http: konachan (dot) com/post/show/115457/aqua_hair-blush-handcuffs-hatsune_miku-long_hair-n (Just remove the spaces).**

**Now, the post was made a while back, so I don't know if the OP knows I'm writing this, so I'm just going to post it here and leave the link on the kink meme. :P**

**And on an unrelated note, I made a Shizaya video! :D It's a slide show, and it's my first video, but I think I timed it well enough. And the song is my favorite song for Shizaya so… WATCH IT AND LOVE THE SHIZAYA! :D (Thanks to those of you who actually do watch it. Haha!) **

**http:/www (dot) youtube (dot) com/watch?v=aQXPJjzUI38&feature=g-upl&context=G23fcff3AUAAAAAAAAAA **

**Well, here you go, and I hope you enjoy chapter 1! I'll have the next up in a couple days, but I have some MAJOR editing to do on this story! **

**Enjoy!**

…~-~…

There was only one word to describe how Izaya felt: Humiliated. Completely and utterly _humiliated_.

Izaya pulled again at the handcuff on his left wrist, the other end attached to a bicycle rack on the side of the street. It was no use. He was stuck handcuffed in the middle of the sidewalk. As if that wasn't bad enough, Izaya was also completely naked. It was evening, but the darkness only made his small form stand out when the lights of the city bounced off of his pale skin. To make matters even worse, a cold autumn rain began pouring from above, which the towering buildings around him offered no protection from. The only items Izaya had with him were a clear plastic umbrella and a pair of rain boots—which at this point he was thankful for.

Izaya shivered, trying to pull his limbs as close to the rest of his body as possible, while still covering up his private parts from the public. Lucky for him, most of the city was inside their nice warm homes watching in comfort as the temperature outside slowly dropped. Izaya was truly jealous of them as a sudden gust of wind blew the rain underneath the umbrella, allowing tiny droplets of ice cold water splash against his skin. Actually, it felt more like needles stabbing into his skin rather than water. Izaya shivered more, trying to angle the umbrella to defend himself against the onslaught of freezing needle pricks until another gust of wind tore the umbrella from his numb fingers.

"Fuck!" Izaya reached out to try and catch the umbrella, but it was already blowing down the street. The clear plastic may not have helped hide him at all, but at least it had been keeping him mostly dry. Now the ice cold drops ravaged his shuddering body as he huddled closer into himself to keep what little warmth he had left in his body.

Izaya had long since ignored the stares of the people passing by. He was humiliated enough without imaging what they thought seeing him looking so helpless. Most people quickly glanced at him before looking away; perhaps pretending they hadn't seen him in the first place. Others stared and giggled, some whispered to their friends and pointed; however, what really got to Izaya were those looks of pity he received every once in a while. It was those looks that made him not want to see his beloved humans' reactions anymore. It made him sick to know that he was being pitied, yet not a single one offered to help him in anyway.

Carefully, Izaya clenched and unclenched the fingers on his left hand, trying to get the blood to flow back into the limb that was held over his head and fully exposed to the cold. Izaya shivered again, desperately wishing he had the umbrella's protection back. He hated the cold to begin with! At this rate, it would kill him!

Soon enough, the shivering became nonstop. His teeth chattered uncontrollably as the rain fell over him. 'I don't know how much more of this I can take…' He thought, wrapping his free arm around his legs.

Izaya could only hope that the humiliation would end soon. He knew a lot of people in this city, and if any of them saw him in this situation, he would never live it down… Especially—

"Flea? Is that you?"

Fuck.

Izaya didn't answer, hoping that his nemesis would simply walk away. But it seemed Shizuo had different plans.

"Hey, Izaya! You alive? What the hell happened to you?"

For an instant, Izaya felt a small patch of numbing heat on his shoulder before it was quickly torn away.

"Shit, you're freezing." After a short pause, Izaya heard Shizuo let out a long sigh. "Fine, I guess, I'll help you. You're just lucky I'm wearing a jacket today."

Izaya didn't register Shizuo's words until something warm and dry was draped over his shoulders, stopping the rain from hitting his skin. Almost immediately after, Izaya felt the handcuff being ripped from his wrist. Izaya flinched as the metal hit hard against his wrist before falling to the ground in front of him.

"C'mon, Flea. Let's go."

Izaya lifted his head to see Shizuo's outstretched hand in front of him. Slowly, Izaya lifted his frozen hand and let it fall into Shizuo's warm one. With Shizuo's help, Izaya felt his stiff legs uncurl from underneath him. His legs were weak, and wobbled below him as he held on to Shizuo's hand for dear life.

Once he felt more stable, Izaya was able to lift his head to get a look at Shizuo. That's when he saw it. The look of pity that he had been receiving the entire time he was handcuffed to the bicycle rack. Suddenly, a small frown appeared on Shizuo's face. He bent down slightly, and zipped up the front of the jacket, which luckily was just long cover him.

"There. Much better." He said with a small nod. "Now let's get out of here before you freeze to death."

Izaya felt Shizuo's hand pull his, leading him away from the spot he had been sitting at for a little over an hour.

…~-~…

At first, he hadn't known _what_ he was looking at. There seemed to be a person—a naked person—curled up facing the wall of a building. He had been about to simply continue walking, but when he looked at the figure from behind, he instantly recognized the back of Izaya's head. He had been staring at it for the past eight years after all. But just to be sure…

"Flea? Is that you?" He asked leaning in to get a closer look.

There was no response, but there was no denying that this was _the_ Orihara Izaya, naked and chained to a bike rack, looking absolutely miserable. The lack of response caught him slightly off guard though. Izaya never would miss a chance to make some snarky remark. Unless…

"Hey, Izaya! You alive? What the hell happened to you?"

The shivering and the slightly uneven rise and fall of his shoulders told Shizuo that Izaya was alive, but something was still off. Slowly, Shizuo reached out to touch Izaya's shoulder. Maybe make him snap out of whatever trance had him sitting there with his eyes closed, as if he was pretending that Shizuo wasn't really there.

Once his hand made contact with Izaya's skin, Shizuo knew something was horribly wrong. Izaya was cold. Far too cold to be normal. In fact, if he hadn't already seen the informant move, Shizuo would have believed he was already dead. Reflexively, Shizuo pulled his hand away.

"Shit, you're freezing!" He exclaimed.

So what now? If he left Izaya here like this, he could die. It didn't seem like any of the other passersby were willing to lend a hand to the freezing man. There were only two options left. Either walk away and leave Izaya to die, or help him out of this pitiful situation.

Shizuo released a sigh as he made his decision. He simply didn't have it in him to walk away knowing full well that the result would be the death of a person. Even if that person was Izaya.

"Fine, I guess, I'll help you. You're just lucky I'm wearing a jacket today."

He really was lucky. Shizuo had taken a look outside before heading out with Tom today, and on a whim decided to grab a jacket since it looked rather cold out with winter rapidly approaching. What were the odds that a small decision like that would prove fruitful now?

Shizuo quickly removed his jacket, and placed it carefully over Izaya's shoulders, noticing how Izaya seemed to start to wake up from his catatonic state at the same time.

'Well that's a good sign at least…'

Shizuo turned his attention to the handcuffs, being as careful as possible to avoid injuring Izaya's wrist in the process of removing the cuff. Izaya flinched once Shizuo broke through the metal, but he wasn't bleeding or anything, so Shizuo would mark it as a success.

"C'mon, Flea. Let's go." Shizuo droned, wanting more than anything to just get this over with. He held his hand out for Izaya, waiting for the smaller man to stand on his own with some snarky comment like "I don't need help from a monster like you" or something.

But that didn't happen. Instead, Izaya raised a freezing and shaking hand up, and placed it into Shizuo's. After the initial shock, Shizuo took the hint, and gently pulled Izaya up to his feet, unable to ignore the way the smaller man seemed to cling to his hand like it was his life line. Shizuo watched as Izaya straightened his legs, which wobbled underneath him. Izaya gradually grew steady enough to stand more or less on his own before he finally raised his head to look at Shizuo.

It was then that Shizuo saw that Izaya's lips were slightly blue. Shizuo frowned at that, but decided not to say anything yet. Maybe it was just the light? Rather than dwelling on that thought, Shizuo bent down to zip his jacket over Izaya's small, shivering form.

"There. Much better." Shizuo said with a nod. At least Izaya would be covered up a little bit. "Now let's get out of here before you freeze to death."

Shizuo took hold of Izaya's hand once again, and tugged at it to let Izaya know they were leaving. After a moment, Izaya took the first shaky step forward. Shizuo just hoped they would make it back to his apartment before Izaya decided to collapse in the street.

…~-~…

**Hope you liked chapter one! Don't forget to review! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you all for the reviews/faves/alerts! Sorry to say, but it's going to be a few more chapters before we see how Izaya got into that situation. **

**But enjoy chapter 2!**

…~-~…

Shizuo watched Izaya carefully as he took his first few steps away from where he had been chained. He seemed to be doing fine at first, but Shizuo frowned when Izaya stumbled over nothing three times in under a minute. He stopped to take another look at Izaya. He wasn't hurt, just cold. Even with the jacket on, he wouldn't stop shivering and his lips were definitely turning blue. _That_ would be a cause for alarm. Shizuo debated simply carrying Izaya the rest of the way, but… First of all, that would be ridiculous, and second, there wasn't really a good way to carry him without showing off to the rest of the city that he was indeed naked under that jacket. So instead, he opted to just continue walking and hope that Izaya would hold up for just a little while longer.

…~-~…

It was taking all of Izaya's focus to stand up. Putting one foot in front of the other was rapidly becoming too difficult of a task to handle. He wanted nothing more than to just curl up on the ground and hope he would get warm somehow. Every once in a while, his legs would start to give out, making him stumble as he tried to press forward. Where was Shizuo taking him?

As if he had read his mind, Shizuo stopped walking, and after examining him for a few moments, he spoke. "Just keep walking, okay? We're going to my apartment. It's only a few more blocks away. Do you think you can make it?"

Izaya heard the words, and saw Shizuo's mouth moving, but it took him much longer to match the noises to words in his head. He realized he was probably taking much too long to answer, so he just nodded, and hoped that would suffice for Shizuo.

Izaya wasn't sure how much longer he had been walking before Shizuo's voice brought his focus away from the not-so-simple task of walking.

"We're here. You still holding up okay?" If Izaya had been paying more attention, he might have noticed the concern in Shizuo's voice, along with the way his hand tightened around his when Izaya didn't respond.

Izaya felt a tug on his hand and realized that Shizuo was moving again. The next thing he knew, he was standing inside a heated building. Izaya instantly felt a little more alert, but his body still refused to cooperate. Once they were both inside the elevator, Izaya finally managed to find his voice.

"Sh-Shi-Shizu-chan?" Izaya cursed the stutter in his speech, but he couldn't help it. Even though he was inside, he was still shivering violently.

Shizuo was caught slightly off guard by how weak Izaya's voice sounded. He wouldn't have believed it was Izaya speaking if he hadn't seen his mouth move.

"Yeah?" Shizuo replied.

There was no further response from Izaya other than a small squeeze of his hand.

Once they were successfully inside Shizuo's apartment, Shizuo immediately brought Izaya into the bathroom and turned on the warm water in the shower. He hoped the temperature wouldn't be too warm too fast on Izaya's freezing skin as he removed his jacket from Izaya's shaking form.

Shizuo helped Izaya step into the shower. Izaya seemed to flinch away from the water at first, but shortly after, the warmth of the water drew Izaya closer to it.

Shizuo quickly helped Izaya rinse off, not wanting him to be in the water any longer than he had to be. After rinsing most of the dirt off of Izaya, Shizuo hastily turned off the water and wrapped a large towel around Izaya, while using a smaller towel to dry his hair. Once he was dried off, Shizuo led Izaya into his room where he found an old pair of sweat pants and a hoodie that wouldn't be too big on Izaya.

Once he was dressed, Shizuo wasted no time getting Izaya into bed and pulling the covers over his frail body. Izaya mumbled something before closing his eyes and curling up in the blankets, still shivering quite violently.

Leaving the room, Shizuo pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed Shinra's number, hoping that the annoying doctor wouldn't ask too many questions.

"Hello?" Shinra's cheery voice answered.

"Uhh… Shinra? I have an… An odd question." Shizuo regretted not thinking through what he was going to say.

"Oh? And what would that be Shizuo?" Shinra asked, sounding curious.

"What… What are the symptoms of hypothermia?" Shizuo wasn't sure if that was even the correct diagnosis, but Shizuo's instincts told him that if everything was normal, Izaya would have stopped shivering by now.

"Hmm… That depends. What are we talking? Mild, moderate, or severe?"

"Umm… Mild? Moderate? I don't know just give me a run down. And keep it simple, okay?"

"Well, decreased body temperature would cause many things. Obviously violent shivering would be apparent and the victim's lips would turn blue, but the victim might also experience confusion, some muscle coordination may be lost, and movements would be slower. In bad cases, there can be other complications including Hepatic Dysfunction, and even Hyperglycemia—"

"Okay, okay. That's enough, thanks." Shizuo cut in, feeling a little more concerned that his instincts may have been spot on. "So… What should I do?"

"Shizuo, are you telling me you're with someone who has hypothermia?"

"Just tell me what to do, okay?" Shizuo demanded.

"Well the best option would be to go to a hospital, but if you can't do that, then just try to keep them warm. If they are into moderate hypothermia, then their own body heat under the covers might not be enough. I would suggest a heating pad or a hot water bottle placed on the core of the body. But please be careful, Shizuo. Sometimes when being re-warmed, a person's blood pressure can suddenly drop. Just promise me that you'll call the hospital if it doesn't get better?"

"Yeah, I will." Shizuo was about to hang up, when he heard Shinra call him again.

"Shizuo, wait!"

"What?"

"Who are you doing this for? Please tell me?" Shinra pleaded.

Shizuo froze at the question. He couldn't even think of a lie before he started talking. "Uh… It's… It's Izaya."

There was a short silence before Shinra spoke again. "I don't know what brought this on, Shizuo, but… Just… Just don't hurt him, okay?"

"I won't, Shinra." Shizuo promised. "I'll let you know if anything happens."

"Oh, and Shizuo?"

"Yeah?"

"I forgot to mention that you're going to need to keep him hydrated. Try some warm water with a little bit of sugar in it, and when he's a little better give him something to eat. It'll help give him some energy back."

"Okay. I'll do that."

Shizuo heard Shinra sigh on the other line. "Okay… Take care, Shizuo."

"Yeah, bye." Shizuo said hanging up the phone.

Now for the task at hand. Shizuo knew he had a hot water bottle somewhere. After digging through the cupboard in his bathroom, Shizuo finally found one. He promptly filled it and returned to his room to give it to Izaya.

…~-~…

Nothing made sense. He knew he was under the covers, but he still felt cold. Why was he so cold? He could feel himself trembling as he tried to pull the blankets around himself more. It did nothing. He was still cold. He opened his eyes to try and figure out where he was, hoping that maybe once he knew that, he could figure out why it was so damn _cold_.

It was then that he heard footsteps coming closer. He tried to sit up and see where they were coming from, but his arms were too weak to push himself up. Soon after, a figure appeared in his vision, and a warm hand was placed on his cheek.

"Izaya? You okay?" A voice asked.

Izaya… That was his name, wasn't it? The voice sounded familiar too, but he couldn't place it. Izaya opened his mouth and said the only word he could think of.

"…Who…?" His voice was weak, and he still couldn't remember where he was. Why was it so difficult?

The voice responded, the figure moving in closer than before. "It's me. It's Shizuo."

Shizuo… He knew that name… Wait… "Sh-Shizu-chan…?" He croaked.

Then it all came back to him. He was outside—naked—in the cold, and Shizuo had taken him to his apartment. He must be in Shizuo's bed then…

"Yeah," Shizuo said quietly, "How are you feeling?"

"Nnnggh… C-cold…" Izaya responded.

"Here, I brought you a hot water bottle."

Izaya felt Shizuo pry the blankets out of his grip and placing something very warm on his chest. Izaya instinctively wrapped his arms around the warm thing as Shizuo replaced the covers. Soon after, the heat began spreading under the blanket, making his shivering slow down slightly as he drifted back to sleep.

…~-~…

**Thanks for reading and don't forget to review! **

**Now, I've never had hypothermia, nor do I know someone who has, so this might be a little inaccurate, and I apologize for that. All of my information came from researching on the internet, so if you see any glaring errors, let me know and I'll see what I can do about it. :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Still looking for my OP from the kink meme! Where oh where could you be? XD**

**Thanks a lot to the two responses about hypothermia! It's mostly the next chapter that I'm worried about when it comes to being accurate to the illness. I won't spoil anything, but I know that it's probably going to be extremely inaccurate considering I couldn't find very much on the internet other than the symptoms and how to re-warm a person… I tried though! I spent quite a good amount of time on google, but still didn't manage to find much! XD**

****And by the way, I forgot to mention in the last chapter, but I did manage to do a drawing for Shizuo's birthday! If you care, here it is:  
>http: kappaoodobi (dot) deviantart (dot) com/art/Happy-Birthday-Shizu-chan-282053760  
>end shameless advertisement of my art. XD**

**Enjoy chapter three, and don't forget to review!**

…~-~…

Shizuo yawned into the back of his hand as he watched Izaya sleep. His shivering had died down immensely, and his lips were back to their normal color, but every once in a while there was a telltale shudder from underneath the blankets. As Shinra suggested, he woke Izaya up every once in a while to give him some warm water with a bit of sugar in it. When the hot water bottle cooled down, Shizuo pried it out of Izaya's grip to refill it. Even in his sleep, Izaya wrapped his arms back around the hot water bottle without hesitation when Shizuo brought it back.

He yawned again, taking his place back on the bed. After what Shinra had said, Shizuo was nervous about leaving Izaya alone for too long. The last thing he needed was for Izaya to take a turn for the worse.

But he was getting tired too. Who would have thought taking care of the Flea would be this exhausting? It couldn't hurt to take a nap, right? He'd be right next to Izaya if anything did happen.

Carefully, Shizuo lifted the covers and slid underneath them next to Izaya. Sleeping next to Izaya wasn't exactly a comfortable thought… But Izaya seemed to be too weak to try anything. Besides, it's not like he has his flick blade nearby. And a maybe it would help Izaya warm up. Carefully, Shizuo pulled Izaya's sleeping form closer to his own body, trying not to think about what he was doing.

'That reminds me,' Shizuo thought, 'I wonder how he even ended up there in the first place…?'

His curiosity would have to wait of course, seeing as Izaya barely even recognized Shizuo. It would be a lot more difficult for him to remember exactly what happened right now. He would just have to wait until Izaya was feeling better.

Shizuo sighed, giving in to exhaustion and letting sleep take him regardless of who was curled up against him.

…~-~…

_Izaya looked around the room, taking note of all of his classmates' frustrated faces. Izaya hadn't found the test hard at all, but many of the others in the room seemed to be struggling. Izaya sat back and smiled as one person in particular caught his attention. Heiwajima Shizuo sat in the same row on the opposite side of the room. He was biting the end of his pen with his brow furrowed in concentration. _

_Izaya took a moment to admire him. His blonde hair stood out against the rest of the class, making him easier for Izaya to see. Izaya carefully looked over his features, wishing he could get a closer look, but knowing that he probably never would… At least in the way he wanted… _

_It happened a lot actually… Izaya would find himself daydreaming about how those lips might feel against his own… Or how those strong hands would wrap around his waist…_

_But those were dreams. They would never become reality. Shizuo hated him, and there was no changing that. Like hell Izaya would ever tell Shizuo how he really felt. The brute probably didn't even understand the meaning of love let alone be capable of loving another person._

_Izaya sighed, turning his attention away from the man he loved. Besides, even if Shizuo _was _capable of love, who would say he would accept love from another man? Izaya rested his head in his hands, suddenly feeling miserable. _

_When class was finally over, Izaya left the building completely ignoring Shinra's reminders that they had biology club that day. He simply wasn't in the mood. On his way home, Izaya stopped at Rajin Elementary, where his sisters would be leaving any minute now. He waited for them at the entrance, still unable to get Shizuo out of his head._

_Izaya reached up and placed his hand on his chest. Why did it hurt so much? _

"_Iza-nii!" A small voice called accompanied by a waving hand in front of his face. "Are we going or what?"_

_Izaya shook his head in an attempt to clear some of his thoughts. "Yeah, let's go you little brats."_

"_That's mean, Iza-nii!" _

"_Yeah… family… (Yeah, we're your family!)" _

_Ignoring his sisters, Izaya continued with them following him until they reached their home. Izaya stepped inside and was immediately greeted with a "Welcome home!" from his mother. _

_When Kyouko came out to see her children, Izaya simply pushed past her and headed for his bedroom. _

"_Izaya?" She called after him. "Is something wrong?"_

"_No." Izaya answered coldly before slamming the door behind him. _

_Once in his room, Izaya dropped his bag on the floor and let himself fall face first onto his bed. Usually the pain would have stopped by the time he got home, but for some reason, today he just felt worse than ever before. His chest ached, and he was starting to get a migraine. Before long, Izaya felt a burning sensation in his eyes that grew steadily until hot tears began to fall down his cheeks. _

_Izaya couldn't even remember the last time he cried. He knew he'd never cried over a _human_ before though. Burying his face into his pillow, Izaya tried to stop the onslaught of tears, but the more he tried to stop them, the more intense the pain in his chest became. _

'_This isn't right.' He thought. 'I shouldn't be crying. Especially not over something as simple as a _person_.'_

_It didn't take long before a small sob escaped his lips, and that was enough. Izaya sobbed hard into his pillow, hoping that it was enough the muffle the sounds that he couldn't control._

_Eventually Izaya gave up on trying to stop the tears. It was just easier to let the pain win and continue to cry his heart out into his pillow. After a while, he was able to breathe easily again, and the tears fell at a much slower pace. _

_It was then that he heard a knock on his door, followed by footsteps heading towards him. Izaya didn't dare look up, fearing what he might look like right now. _

"_Izaya?" His mother whispered. _

_Izaya felt the mattress sink down next to him followed by his mother's hand on his shoulder gently rubbing back and forth. _

"_Izaya, is everything okay?" She asked._

_He couldn't answer her. He knew if he told her "I'm fine", his voice would betray him. _

"_Izaya, please just tell me what's wrong." She sounded more urgent now. Her hand moved to the back of Izaya's head, and just rested there._

_They were both silent for a few minutes, during which time Kyouko had begun to gently run her fingers through Izaya's hair. _

"_Dinner will be ready soon. Are you hungry?"_

_Izaya shook his head in response. He already felt sick to his stomach. Food was the very last thing on his mind. _

"_Okay. I'll make a plate for you when you get hungry."_

_Izaya simply nodded again, unable to find the strength to lift his head from the pillow as his mother's footsteps grew distant. He could never tell her what was really going on. He could never tell _anyone_ how he felt. _

_Especially not Heiwajima Shizuo._

…~-~…

When Izaya opened his eyes, he was surprised to see Shizuo's sleeping face directly in front of his own. It definitely wasn't a sight he needed to see after the dream he'd just had. The last thing he needed was to be reminded of the pain he'd felt back in high school.

Ever since they graduated from high school, Izaya had done his best to ignore his feelings for Shizuo. And to be honest, he had been doing a damn good job for a while. The pain he had felt had never come back as strong as it had been the day it had reduced him to tears. But now, seeing Shizuo so close up…

Izaya smiled warmly at the calm face in front of him. It was the first time he'd ever seen Shizuo's expression so relaxed before. In fact, he had never seen his face so close up before at all. Izaya let his eyes wander over Shizuo's face starting from the blonde hair that fell over his forehead, then to his eyelashes which remained their original color.

His eyes paused when they reached his lips. They looked much softer up close than he would have thought them to be. If he could just touch them…

'No…' he thought, tearing his eyes away. 'Don't start thinking like that.'

But…

Izaya's eyes drifted back to Shizuo's lips as he leaned in a little closer.

'Just this once… Then it's over.'

…~-~…

**Quick fun fact about your author!**

**Okay, so… Izaya says that he had a normal childhood, and the only thing strange about his parents is their choice of child's names, so I've always imagined that Kyouko and Shirou would have been caring parents, whether Izaya needed it or not. Think about it. Izaya observes people obsessively, I think he'd know what constitutes a "normal" parent. I'm not the biggest fan of fics where Izaya's parents are abusive/never around. Although, I'm not completely against them, considering I've read many good ones that suggest those themes, it's just that it's my head canon that Izaya's parents—especially his mother would have been very nice people. **

**/End random babbling. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Real life has got me all stressed out today… D: But I'd hate to leave you guys hanging, so I'll upload this now while I have a few minutes before I die of school work overdose. **

**Enjoy! **

…~-~…

Cautiously, Izaya closed the gap between their lips until there was barely an inch between them and he could feel Shizuo's breath on his own lips. Izaya closed his eyes, hoping that he wouldn't wake Shizuo as he let his lips lightly brush against Shizuo's. They were much softer than he had imagined, practically begging him to deepen the kiss.

Never had Izaya ever imagined he would have the chance to do this. He tried to pull away. He tried to stop before he lost himself to the feeling, but once he let his tongue quickly taste Shizuo's lips, he couldn't stop. Under the covers, Izaya rested a hand on Shizuo's bare abdomen and leisurely let it slide lower until he reached the waistband of the sweat pants that Shizuo was wearing.

'Damn it. Stop!' His mind screamed at him while his body refused to listen, gently sliding his hand under Shizuo's boxers inch by inch until his fingertips brushed the top of his prize. He lightly stroked it, hearing Shizuo let out a small grumble in his sleep.

Izaya continued to stroke Shizuo under the covers feeling him begin to get hard from the attention. As much as he knew this was a horrible idea, Izaya simply couldn't stop. All those years of wanting to be near Shizuo, to kiss him, to touch him… It was all pouring out at once, and Izaya found himself absolutely powerless against it. Moreover, the small noises that escaped Shizuo's lips every once in a while were starting to have an effect on Izaya's own body. He was touching Shizuo, and that thought alone was enough to make him hard. Paired with Shizuo's approving groans, Izaya was fully aroused in under a minute without even being touched.

Suddenly, Shizuo's eyes sprung open, meeting Izaya's lust filled gaze. Before Izaya could even register the severity of his actions, Shizuo had already roughly shoved him away, and was sitting upright on the bed looking absolutely dumbfounded.

"What the _fuck_, Izaya?" He bellowed.

Izaya froze, desperately trying to come up with a lie that could explain what he had been doing, but his mind was completely blank. All he could think about was the feeling of Shizuo's skin underneath his fingertips. Now that he'd had a taste, he needed more. Much more.

"Shizu-chan…" He whispered as he began crawling towards Shizuo on his hands and knees. "Shizu-chan…"

Shizuo backed away from Izaya until his back hit the wall, leaving him cornered. With every advancement Izaya made, Shizuo became increasingly tense until Izaya was straddling his hips. When Shizuo made no further movements to push Izaya away, Izaya began rotating his hips in small circles, earning a small whimper from Shizuo.

Leaning closer, Izaya lightly licked the shell of Shizuo's ear before whispering into it. "Just relax, Shizu-chan."

Of course relaxation was the last thing on Shizuo's mind right now, especially when Izaya's hands moved down Shizuo's chest until he was palming Shizuo's arousal through his sweatpants. Even more so when Izaya's head moved down, trailing small kisses that he could barely feel all down Shizuo's neck, stopping only once to suck and nip at his jaw line before continuing down to his chest.

Shizuo gasped when Izaya licked a nipple, lightly sucking on it as he used one hand to thumb at the other, while his other hand continued rubbing him through his pants. As Izaya continued his ministrations, Shizuo let out a small moan, unintentionally encouraging Izaya to continue.

Bringing both of his hands down, Izaya tugged Shizuo's pants and boxers down simultaneously, fully revealing him to Izaya. He was much bigger than Izaya had initially been able to tell while he was asleep.

"W-wait, Izaya!" Shizuo said breathlessly.

"Shizu-chan, I told you, just _relax._" Izaya insisted. He was becoming more aroused by the second, still unable to believe that this was really happening.

Izaya quickly removed the hoodie and sweatpants that Shizuo had let him borrow before lowering his head back down. Izaya gingerly wrapped his fingers around Shizuo's length, relishing the feel of his hardened flesh. It was too much for Izaya to resist as he gently licked the tip causing Shizuo's hips to involuntarily lurch forward into Izaya's mouth, which Izaya gladly allowed Shizuo entry to.

Izaya took as much of Shizuo in as he could and sucked hard. If Shizuo was going to kill him after this, he might as well enjoy the ride.

And _oh_, did he enjoy the small noises that Shizuo kept trying so desperately to hold back. Each little noise furthered Izaya's own arousal to a point where he couldn't even touch himself lest he come too soon.

Reluctantly, Izaya pulled himself away from Shizuo's arousal, looking up into the blonde's face.

"Shizu-chan," He breathed, "do you have any lube?"

Even though Izaya was desperate enough to let himself be taken dry, he knew that doing so wouldn't feel as good for either of them. Izaya smiled when Shizuo reached a shaky hand out and pointed to the drawer on his nightstand. Reaching over to it, Izaya rummaged through the drawer until he found a small unopened bottle at the bottom.

Izaya tore the plastic off with his teeth, and popped the cap open as quickly as he could manage. Evidently the motor function in his hands wasn't completely back to normal yet. When he finally managed to coat his fingers with the lube, Izaya sat back and brought his fingers to his entrance, all too aware of Shizuo's eyes on him.

Just moving his fingers lightly around the ring of muscle brought Izaya too close, forcing him to move slower when he inserted the first finger. Once it was inside, Izaya did his best to avoid touching his prostate, knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to handle it. Izaya took a few moments to compose himself before adding the second finger. He hissed slightly at the intrusion, but forced himself to relax and take it. He had to fit Shizuo in there after all.

After carefully stretching himself open with a third finger, Izaya brought his attention back to Shizuo, pleased to find that his eyes had been glued to Izaya's actions the entire time with a light shade of red spread over his face which Izaya could only hope was from arousal.

Straddling Shizuo's hips, Izaya guided Shizuo's arousal and aligned it with his entrance. Slowly, Izaya lowered himself down on to Shizuo, feeling his muscles stretch to accommodate his girth.

"Nnggghh…" Shizuo moaned, letting his hips rock slightly as he was pushed inside. "F-fuck… I-Izaya…"

Izaya instantly froze at the use of his name—_His name_ coming from Shizuo's mouth in a breathy, lustful moan.

"Ah! Shizu-chan!" Izaya cried out when Shizuo thrust upwards, silently telling Izaya to get on with it.

Izaya lifted himself up and slammed back down, grinding his hips in a circular motion around Shizuo's arousal before lifting up and repeating the action. However, he was only able to do this a few times before his legs completely gave out on him, leaving him unable to move. He groaned in frustration and pain when he realized his body wasn't ready for so much activity after his situation earlier in the evening.

Luckily, Shizuo seemed to take the hint, and—much to Izaya's surprise—turned both of them to the side and _gently_ lowered him on to the bed, allowing Shizuo thrust at his own pace.

In and out…

In and out…

Faster and faster.

Shizuo shifted his body so that he could suck and bite at Izaya's collar bone. The sudden change of the angle caused Shizuo's cock to rub hard across Izaya's prostate, causing him to let out a loud gasp. He continued to moan louder and louder as Shizuo rammed back inside, each time hitting Izaya's sweet spot dead on while simultaneously sucking hard on his clavicle. Izaya clenched down reflexively trying to keep Shizuo on that spot. As soon as his muscles tightened, Shizuo released inside of Izaya with a drawn out groan.

"Ahh… AH! SHIZU-CHAN!" Izaya yelled as he came harder than ever before at the feeling of Shizuo exploding inside of him. The sudden warm wetness that seemed to fill him up as Shizuo rode out the waves of his orgasm made his vision go white as he released without even being touched. Izaya felt his muscles continue to clench and unclench, drawing out Shizuo's orgasm even more, which in turn caused Izaya to come even longer.

Once both of them had finished, Shizuo pulled out and collapsed half on top of Izaya, breathing heavily. Izaya lay perfectly still, listening as Shizuo's breathing became slower, signifying that he had fallen asleep.

Izaya closed his eyes, feeling Shizuo's warmth seep into him while his skin continued to tingle everywhere Shizuo had touched. He tried to stay awake, wanting to feel Shizuo's skin against his for as long as possible, but he simply didn't have the energy. Releasing a deep breath, Izaya allowed himself to sleep hoping that when he woke, Shizuo would still be exactly where he was; with his arm draped over Izaya's stomach, and his face nuzzled in Izaya's neck.

…~-~…

**As always, thanks for reading and don't forget to review! (Please make my day better! XD)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, so I decided to update a little early because I won't be around a computer too much tomorrow when I had originally planned to update. I'm so freaking excited because I'm going to see Bo Burnham tomorrow! :D (If you don't know Bo, go to youtube right now. RIGHT NOW.)**

**So that's good news for you! I hope my hypothermia-knowledgeable readers weren't too upset with me with that last chapter… I'm pretty sure Izaya wouldn't have been able to do all of that so soon. XD And this chapter might be a little inaccurate too, but just bear with me and focus on the plot rather than the technicalities! **

**Well, that's enough of that. Enjoy!**

…~-~…

Shizuo groaned when the light from the window reached his eyes, pulling him out of a deep sleep. Immediately he could tell something was off. He froze when he realized that he was currently lying partially on Izaya—and they were both completely naked.

Quickly jumping out of bed, Shizuo headed for his shower, suddenly eager to clean himself. He stepped under the warm water and let it wash over him while the memories of the night before flooded back.

He had found Izaya chained up outside… He had helped to warm him up again… He fell asleep next to Izaya…

And woke up to the Flea kissing and fondling him…

And then…

'And then we had sex.' He thought, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands.

Once he was out of the shower, Shizuo grabbed a washcloth, knowing that Izaya would probably need to clean up. Not that he wanted to think about that of course…

Once in his room, Shizuo quickly got dressed and turned to look at Izaya, frowning when he noticed that Izaya hadn't moved since he left for his shower.

"Hey, wake up." Shizuo said sternly, nudging Izaya's arm. It was then that he noticed that Izaya felt a little too warm.

"Nnnnnghh." Izaya whimpered, opening his eyes.

Before Izaya could say or do anything else, Shizuo already had his hand on Izaya's forehead, testing his temperature.

"Great. Now you have a fever…" Shizuo mumbled. "Damn Flea. Can't keep a normal body temperature to save your life, can you?"

Shizuo would have kept talking, except all words evaded him when Izaya looked up at him with exhausted eyes, and a warm smile on his lips.

"Thanks for saving me, Shizu-chan."

Shizuo stared at him for a while, trying to figure out if maybe he really was dreaming. The Flea he knew would never look at him like that, let alone thank him for anything.

Actually, the Flea he knew wouldn't have sex with him either.

… And he would never _let_ the Flea have sex with him.

Shizuo quickly tossed the washcloth at Izaya and turned to face the wall. "Clean yourself up." He demanded. He would just pretend he didn't see the small red mark on Izaya's collar bone that only served to validate that something had indeed happened last night.

"Yeah, okay." Izaya responded quietly, taking the washcloth.

"What the fuck happened between us last night?" Shizuo asked after giving Izaya enough time to clean up. He was still unable to ignore the fact that he had _sex_ with _Izaya_.

Without warning, Izaya's smile reverted back to his usual grin, and his eyes became much more alert. "Maybe Shizu-chan has a secret crush on me, ne?"

"Ha! Like that would ever happen!" Shizuo laughed for a few seconds until the sudden slip of Izaya's mask revealing a somber look on Izaya's face forced him to stop.

"I do…" He whispered to himself.

"What's that, Flea?" Shizuo asked, unsure if heard what he thought he just heard.

"Shizu-chan… About last night… I…" Izaya paused, taking a deep breath before continuing on. "I'm sorry, okay? Just forget it ever happened, and everything will be fine."

"You're _sorry_? The Izaya I know doesn't go around apologizing." Shizuo pointed out. "What the hell is wrong with you anyway?"

"It's nothing. I thought I'd gotten over it, but I guess I was wrong… Like I said. Just forget about it."

"Forget about it? Izaya, we had _SEX_!" Shizuo blurted out, punching the wall and leaving a good size dent in the drywall as opposed to Izaya's face. "You can't expect me to just _forget_ about that! Now explain!"

There was a long pause as Izaya simply sat still and stared at Shizuo. When Shizuo was almost ready to punch the answers out of him, Izaya finally opened his mouth and let out a long sigh.

"In… In high school, I might have had… a little… thing… when it came to you…"

"W… What?" Shizuo asked dumbfounded.

"It's not important now, okay? I thanked you for helping me, now if you'll excuse me, I'll just be leaving."

Izaya moved to the edge of the bed to pull his borrowed sweatpants back on, and stood up on shaky legs. Shizuo watched as Izaya's legs finally gave in and buckled underneath him, giving Shizuo just enough time to catch Izaya before he hit the ground.

"Let go of me!" He protested, "I can walk just fine!"

"Clearly not. So why don't you just sit tight and explain to me _exactly_ what's going on here."Shizuo pushed Izaya back on the bed as he spoke.

"Explain what? I don't have to explain anything to you, you brainless oaf!"

"I saved you, now in return I want to know what you were doing there in the first place, and I want to know what you meant when you said that you—"

"Neither of those things pertain to you, Shizuo." Izaya said flatly.

"LIKE HELL THEY DON'T!" Shizuo blurted out. "You just told me that you had a crush on me in high school, and I just saved your ass from dying of hypothermia. I want answers, and you're gonna give 'em to me now!"

"I am grateful to you for helping me, Shizu-chan, but I'm not about to disclose all of my personal information."

"I'm not asking—" Shizuo released a long breath, trying to calm himself. When he spoke again, his voice was much softer. "Just answer a few questions for me, okay? If you do, I'll make you something for breakfast. Shinra said you're going to need food so you can recover."

"Tempting me with food, huh? That's not going to wor—" Izaya cut off when his stomach grumbled quite loudly, causing a grin to spread over Shizuo's face.

"Fine." Izaya said with a pout. "But I don't want any of your sugary crap."

"Yeah, yeah." Shizuo responded, turning out of the room. "I got it. Just keep up your end of the deal, or I'll break your neck."

Izaya said nothing more when Shizuo left for the kitchen. After rummaging around his fridge, he managed to find enough eggs, cheese, mushrooms, and green pepper to make an omelet for each of them. Shizuo made one for himself first and ate it while waiting for Izaya's to cook so it wouldn't get cold.

Once he was finished, he brought the plate to Izaya and placed it in front of him. Izaya gave it a skeptical look, moving the plate around to look at the omelet from all different angles.

"Just eat it. I wouldn't poison you when I'm trying to get answers from you."

"One can never be too careful, Shizu-chan!" Izaya lectured, "But I suppose that makes sense."

Izaya tentatively took the first bite, chewing slowly as if he were analyzing it.

'Knowing him, he probably is…' Shizuo mused.

"Hmm… Not bad… Could have gone a little easier on the cheese, though. Ah, but you like dairy products, don't you Shizu-chan?"

"I'm the one asking the questions here, Flea."

Izaya sighed and shook his head disapprovingly before taking another bite of the omelet. "Okay, fine. Ask away."

"How did you end up outside like that last night?"

"Well, I can't tell you _everything_ about that, but I will tell you this. I did something involving a family member of the Awakusu-kai, and my employer wasn't too happy about it."

"So they left you out in the cold to die?" Shizuo pressed on, now more curious than before.

"Not exactly. I'm sure he would have come to get me after a while. He still needs me alive to work for him after all."

"And you're not going to tell me any more than that, right?" Shizuo assumed.

Izaya nodded briefly before speaking in a matter-of-fact way. "That's correct. You don't need to know anything else about it."

"Well what about the other thing then? Did you really…? In high school…?"

Closing his eyes, Izaya took a deep breath and released it slowly before responding. "_Since_ high school, Shizu-chan."

Shizuo stared at Izaya, letting his words sink in for a few moments. "I'm not sure if I can believe that, Izaya." he began, "All this time all you've ever done is ruined my life. How do you expect me to—"

"Remember the day I got you arrested, and you lost your job as a bartender?" Izaya interjected.

"How could I forget?" Shizuo grumbled, his hands clenching into fists.

Izaya paused, setting his plate of food aside, and resting his head in his hands. "I can't believe I'm about to tell you this, but… The night before that… I had quite the vivid dream in which some drunken idiot shot and killed you while you were working… So I…"

Shizuo's jaw dropped open as Izaya trailed off. He didn't need to finish that sentence for Shizuo to understand what he was getting at.

"So then… All this time, huh?"

"Yeah," Izaya confirmed, "and last night I… I'm sorry. Just forget about it and we can just get back to normal."

"Normal? Izaya, you can't really expect things to just go back to the way they were!"

"Of course they can, Shizu-chan! I've been doing it for eight years. I've had loads of practice!"

He wasn't sure why, but the idea that Izaya had been intentionally covering up his love with false hatred for eight years was a disturbing thought for Shizuo.

"Why didn't you just confess? You know, back in high school?"

"Think about it Shizu-chan. Would you _really_ have listened?" Izaya pointed out.

"I… I don't know… I'm listening now, aren't I? Why would it be any different eight years ago?" Shizuo suggested.

"Because," Izaya began, "the only reason you're listening now is because of… certain events that took place last night."

"Okay, fine. That's enough. But all of this still doesn't explain _me_."

"What do you mean, Shizu-chan?" Izaya questioned.

"Last night I couldn't stop you… I just let you…"

Suddenly, Izaya's grin was back. "Maybe I'm just that irresistible!"

A small smile made its way across Shizuo's face at that suggestion because as Shizuo recalled, last night he could hardly get enough of Izaya once the smaller man became a moaning mess underneath him.

"Maybe you are…" Shizuo said with a small chuckle.

…~-~…

**How did Izaya go from hypothermia to a fever? I don't even know. XD Just ignore that, and we'll be fine. (Author has practically no medical knowledge. That's why she's an art major as opposed to nursing or something.)**

**So, if you don't completely understand what happened to lead to Izaya in the first chapter, don't worry, it'll be explained in a little more detail later, though if you don't know much about some of the novel stuff, it might still be unclear. I'll make sure to explain myself in the A/N of that chapter! **

**As always, thanks for reading, and don't forget to review! :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Umm… Happy Super bowl Sunday? Do I care? Not too much to be honest. XD I hope my readers aren't all at parties today, and are here for an update! Things get explained a little more in this chapter, and of course, that massive A/N at the bottom would be the explanation. **

**ENJOY!**

…~-~…

A few short hours later, Izaya's fever was beginning to dissipate, allowing him the ability to walk without instantaneously collapsing on the floor. Now that he was feeling much stronger, Shizuo had agreed to let him head back to his own apartment as long as he let Shizuo accompany him.

"I don't want to have gone through the trouble of saving you only to have you get killed on your way home, Flea."

Izaya crossed his arms over his chest while standing just outside Shizuo's apartment. "Shizu-chan, I'm fine. Just let me go, and we'll pretend this never happened."

"Would you stop saying that? How can you just brush this off like it didn't happen?" Shizuo exclaimed.

"Why not?" Izaya questioned. "Nothing needs to change between us. Like I said, it doesn't concern you."

Shizuo sighed. "I'm sick of hearing that one too." He mumbled. "Just let me walk you home. Hell, I'll walk a ways behind you so no one will see us together if that's what you're worried about."

Izaya pondered that for a moment, humming as if he was thinking harder on it than he really was. "Fine."

But it wasn't so much the idea of being seen in public that bothered Izaya…

Since the day he realized he had feelings for Shizuo, Izaya had promised himself that no one would ever know. But then last night happened…

He simply couldn't understand what had caused him to suddenly lose control like that. Ever since they had graduated, Izaya had pushed the pain he had felt in high school deep into his heart, telling himself he wouldn't allow it to get the better of him anymore. After all, Izaya was in love with humanity. He could never love an individual in a romantic way. He had convinced himself that his attraction to Shizuo was nothing more than teenage hormones.

But…

Izaya shivered, remembering his actions the previous night. He couldn't remember too much of Shizuo actually getting him to his apartment, but he remembered everything that happened while he was there. The way Shizuo gave him the hot water bottle, the way Shizuo had forced him to drink the sugar water (which was revolting, by the way), the way Shizuo looked at him as if he was a fragile porcelain doll as opposed to "the Flea"…

The face he made while he slept so peacefully next to Izaya… The feel of his lips on his own, and his skin beneath his fingertips…

No. That wasn't supposed to happen. How could he let himself fall to his feelings so easily? Orihara Izaya relied on intellect, not instinct. Never before had he done something so impulsive… What if it happened again? What if this was only the beginning?

Izaya stopped outside of his apartment, looking behind him to see Shizuo following about ten meters behind. Stepping into the lobby, Izaya pressed the button to call the elevator and waited. He wasn't sure if he could handle taking the stairs to the top floor today.

It didn't take much longer for Shizuo to catch up, stopping to stand and wait next to Izaya.

"I'm home now. You can leave." Izaya said coldly.

When Shizuo didn't respond, Izaya sighed loudly. Did he have to stand so close? Even with Shizuo's thick hoodie covering him, he could still feel Shizuo's body heat as if it were teasing him. Trying to remind him of the mistake he had made. Yes, that's what it was. A _mistake_.

The _ding_ of the elevator tore Izaya from his thoughts. He stepped inside, feeling his heart sink when Shizuo followed him. Silently, the two waited until they reached the top floor.

As the doors opened, Izaya looked up to see four men standing outside his apartment.

"Orihara-san." Shiki stepped away from the wall he had been leaning on when he saw Izaya exit the elevator.

But Izaya said nothing. He simply shot a glare at his employer before snatching his bag of clothes from him and rummaging through to find his keys to unlock his door, desperate to escape from these people.

"Orihara-san, I would like to apologize." Shiki said with a small bow.

Izaya paused, recalling the sheer humiliation that this man had forced him to endure. "Apology not accepted, Shiki-san." Izaya said flatly, walking through the front door.

"With all due respect Orihara-san," Shiki began, following Izaya inside, "I had fully intended for either myself or my men to pick you up just a few minutes later than when Heiwajima-san found you."

At that, Shizuo cut in. "How did you know I—"

"My men had been keeping an eye on him to make sure nothing happened. Though I will admit, I was nervous when they reported you arriving on the scene."

Shizuo had nothing more to say. He and Izaya were known enemies after all, why wouldn't Izaya's employer be concerned?

"However," Shiki continued, "I didn't expect to hear that you helped him. I won't ask your intentions because frankly, that's not very important to me, but I would like to thank you for not causing him any harm. I assume that since you're here, and Orihara-san is clearly wearing your clothes, that you took care of him last night?"

"I ended up with hypothermia thanks to you, Shiki-san." Izaya interjected.

"Yes, I figured you might. Which is why I had preparations made in advance to help you if it did get to that point. I assure you, I did not put you in any real danger. I know you have a lot of enemies, which was why I made sure my men could keep an eye on you."

"Knowing that I was being watched in that pitiful state isn't exactly what I need to hear right now, Shiki-san." Izaya responded coldly.

"Which is why I waited here for you to return. Whether you choose to listen or not, I deeply apologize for the trouble you've been put through, but I only hope you understand why something like this had to be done. The Young Miss is in a very vulnerable state, and the last thing she needed was for you to meddle in her life."

Izaya sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He wasn't even going to try and argue with Shiki. He knew from the beginning that toying with Awakusu Akane wasn't the best idea. Right now, he just wanted to be alone. "Just leave," He stated, "Contact me the next time you have a job for me. But only if you really need me."

"Fair enough. Feel better, Orihara-san."

Skipping a formal goodbye, Shiki walked out the door with his men following closely behind, leaving Izaya and Shizuo alone once again.

There was silence in the apartment while Izaya took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to remain calm.

The silence was short-lived when Shizuo broke it. "Izaya? Are you okay?"

Izaya faced away from Shizuo not wanting him to see his mask slipping for the millionth time in under twenty-four hours. Taking a few more moments to ensure his voice wouldn't betray him, Izaya responded. "Yeah. I'm fine. What are you still doing here, anyway?"

Now it was Shizuo's turn to remain quiet. He stood still for a few moments, contemplating what to say.

"Well, I was just thinking…" He began, "Would you like to go get something to eat?"

Izaya stiffened at Shizuo's words. He wasn't stupid. He knew what Shizuo's implications were. But still, he found himself saying something he was sure to regret later. A single word that he already knew was another mistake in the making, but still he let it pass his lips.

"Sure."

…~-~…

**Okay, as promised, it's explanation time! If you've read the novels, hopefully you understand what was happening here, but if not, here's what happened.**

**WARNING: DETAILED NOVEL SPOILER ALERT! This is the story of Awakusu Akane:  
><strong> 

**In volume 6 of the light novel, we are introduced to a young girl named "Akane", who happens to be the granddaughter of the leader of the Awakusu-kai. (I can't remember his name off the top of my head…) Anyway, Akane has always thought that her father and grandfather ran a business selling paintings, which is the cover for the Awakusu-kai business (Hence why you might have heard that the base where Shiki's office would be is in a gallery). Akane wanted to be a great painter when she grew up, telling her parents that she wanted to be good enough that her father and grandfather would be able to sell her work—obviously she didn't know the truth about her father's business. **

**She found out using this fancy thing called "the internet" that her father was actually a yakuza, after she overheard her classmate's parents telling their children not to be mean to "the Awakusu girl". She became suspicious, and when she found out what really was going on, she was very upset. While on the internet asking around about the Awakusu-kai, Akane came into contact with none other than a person named "Nakura". He convinced her to run away, and that he would meet her at a given location. When she got there, it was through Akane's perspective, and she says she was surprised to see a woman waiting for her who called herself Nakura. (The description leads us to understand that this woman is Namie.) Later, Namie under the name Nakura tells Akane that she wants her to meet someone who she calls Izaya. Akane spends a lot of time with "Nakura" and "Izaya", until eventually, Izaya talks to her personally. **

**Here's where things get fun. Izaya asks Akane if she still loves her father and grandfather, and she says yes. Izaya hands her a picture of Shizuo along with a modified stun gun and tells her that the man in the picture is an assassin who is going to kill her father and grandfather. He sends Akane off with that knowledge, and we get to a very special scene in which Akane finds Shizuo and attacks him with the stun gun. To which Shizuo only says "Ouch, that hurts." XD**

**Tom, Shizuo, and Akane all end up at Shinra's place, where Akane reveals that someone named Iza-nii told her to kill Shizuo. To everyone's surprise, Shizuo smiles and says something along the lines of "Oh, he's just a friend playing a prank. Don't worry about that." And as soon as he walks out of the room, he tells Tom "If I get arrested for murder today, tell the boss to treat it like I was fired." **

**Now then, there is one part of this that confused me a little, so I'm hoping that if any of you have read the novels, and have been reading this little summary you might be able to help me on this one. Later, Izaya is in the car with Shiki who is asking him if he knows anything about Akane's disappearance (although at this point they had already found her again). Izaya simply goes on to say something like "Oh my, no! You should be careful not to let bad people near her!" And Shiki, being as smart as he is, decides that he's going to drop Izaya off where he picks up Akane. Shiki studies Izaya and Akane when they see each other, but Akane doesn't seem to recognize him. Izaya goes through the motions of "I don't believe we've met!" while talking to Akane, who seems to just go along with that, and Shiki doesn't see anything too out of the ordinary. **

**What confuses me about this is the fact that if Akane really doesn't recognize Izaya here, then she must have met someone posing as Izaya. If not, then she's just really smart and understands that Izaya would get in trouble if she reveals that she knows him. I'm not really sure which it is though. **

**So. Wow that was long. Now that you know that, the opening scene of "Humiliation" was the result of the Awakusu-kai finding out that Izaya did have something to do with Akane's disappearance. **

**/THE END. Rainbows and puppies. XD**


	7. Chapter 7

**STILL LOOKING FOR MY OP! WHERE ARE YYOOOUUUU? D:**

**Also, thank you all so much for the reviews/faves/alerts! It means so much to me!**

**Anywhoodles, if you care I would like to let you all know that I am in a much better mood right now for two reasons:  
>1. The first forty minutes of my metalsmithing class was spent with the professor just talking about random things like youtube videos, and I didn't do anything for the entire class except for start planning a design, and,<br>2. I just found out that my art history test will be much shorter than they were last semester, leaving me with the time to edit this chapter instead of studying my ass off for the next two days. (FYI, I've been studying for this for almost a week now. Partly why I was so upset when I posted chapter 4) **

**Okay that's enough of that. Here's the chapter!**

…~-~…

Shizuo waited while Izaya got dressed in his own clothes, and soon the two of them were at a sushi restaurant in Shinjuku. They sat in a sort of awkward silence while they waited for their food. Shizuo had hoped that the typically talkative Izaya would say something so that he might be able to figure out what was going on in Izaya's head; however, much to Shizuo's disappointment, Izaya remained silent.

By the time Shizuo was half finished with his meal, he looked up to see that Izaya had only taken one bite. Izaya poked at his ootoro with his chopsticks, moving a few pieces around on the plate. His gaze was distant, as if he were looking past the plate rather than at it.

"Everything okay?" Shizuo asked, unsure of why he was concerned in the first place.

When Izaya didn't respond, Shizuo couldn't help be reminded of how Izaya had acted when he wasn't feeling well. Just when Shizuo was ready to reach out and check Izaya's temperature, Izaya suddenly seemed to snap back into reality.

"Did you just say something?" Izaya asked.

"I just asked if everything was okay. You're not eating." Shizuo pointed out, gesturing to Izaya's plate.

"Ah, well. I guess I'm not as hungry as I thought. But I feel fine." He responded with a small smile.

'Bullshit.' Shizuo thought. Quickly going to the register, Shizuo paid for their lunch, and returned to the table, practically pulling a suddenly frighteningly pale Izaya from his seat.

"C'mon," Shizuo said, "Let's just get you back home."

…~-~…

Izaya followed Shizuo out of the restaurant like a lost puppy. He was feeling rather lightheaded, and a little dizzy. Every once in a while, his vision would blur, causing him to have to close his eyes when the strain of keeping them focused gave him a headache.

Once he could see somewhat straight again, Izaya registered that he was already back in the elevator, heading up to his apartment. He felt slightly better by the time he found his keys and opened the door, but the relief was short-lived.

The instant he stepped inside, it felt like a switch was suddenly hit. Black spots abruptly clouded his vision as he fought to stay standing. His knees buckled underneath him, and the world felt as if it was tilting around him, forcing him off balance. He could hear Shizuo calling his name as he hit the ground hard and without warning. Unable to fight off the fuzzy feeling in his head, Izaya decided it was just easier to give in as he fell unconscious.

…~-~…

Izaya groaned at the cold sensation on his forehead—a stark contrast to the rest of his over-heated body. He fought to open his eyes, finding that his vision was still a little burred, albeit still much better than before.

Turning his head to the side, Izaya could see that he was in his bedroom with Shizuo sitting on the edge of the bed. He was holding a washcloth which Izaya assumed was the source of the cold sensation when he awoke.

"Good, you're awake. Are you feeling okay?" Shizuo asked, bringing the washcloth back to wipe Izaya's forehead again.

Izaya shifted uncomfortably under the covers. When he spoke, his voice was far too weak for his liking. "Hot…"

With a small nod, Shizuo pulled some of the covers down to make Izaya more comfortable. "How's that?"

Instead of responding to Shizuo's question, Izaya posed one of his own. "So what happened to hating me?" He asked, feeling his voice grow a little stronger the more he used it.

Shizuo paused at the question. The pensive look on his face was something that Izaya had never imagined would ever cross his features. He looked up at the ceiling with his eyebrows slightly furrowed. "Well," he began, "you told me earlier that you've liked me since high school, right? I always assumed that everything you did after the first time we met was out of your hatred for me, so I returned that hatred… But…" His voice suddenly became much smaller. "But if you've been in love with me for this long… Well… I guess I can try to return that instead…"

Izaya said nothing for a few moments. He was sure if he didn't just hear what he thought he did, but the look on Shizuo's face told him that he did. And that happened to be the last thing Izaya wanted to hear. Nevertheless, Izaya slipped into his mask and did the only thing he could think to do. He laughed.

"Hahahahahaha! I'll never understand your protozoan logic, Shizu-chan!" Izaya could feel his heart rate increase when Shizuo's expression didn't change. Even more so when Shizuo continued to gently wipe at his face with the washcloth.

"Are you starting to feel better yet?"

He was sure Shizuo could hear it. How couldn't he? Izaya's heart pounded loudly in his chest as he tried to keep his voice steady while again avoiding Shizuo's question. "Hey, Shizu-chan? I don't think this is going to work out… You know… Us."

"We could always try…" Shizuo suggested, raising an eyebrow.

"Shizuo, I don't need anyone. My love for humanity is a one-sided thing, and I wouldn't be able to love one person individually."

"But didn't you say earlier that you love me?"

"Yes, but that's different." Izaya sighed. As much as he didn't want to give Shizuo insight into his personal life, it was necessary if he wanted to stop this before it began. "Although I may have feelings for you, I wouldn't be able to love you the way you deserve. I don't need anyone else in my life. I'm completely satisfied being alone and simply observing. That's why I never told you before."

Izaya tensed when he saw concern form in Shizuo's eyes.

"So you'd… rather just be alone for the rest of your life?" He questioned as if it was the most absurd thing he'd ever been told in his life. And who knew… Maybe it was.

"Yes. That's correct." Izaya responded.

"You expect me to just keep going on like this knowing that you love me? I don't know if I can do that. Izaya, no one has ever said anything like that to me before… What if no one else ever does? You might be fine with ignoring your feelings and being alone for the rest of your life, but I can't simply ignore it when someone tells me they love me!"

"Shizu-chan, have a little faith in yourself, okay?" Izaya said with a small smile. "I'm sure you'll find someone who's right for you, and isn't me."

Quickly jumping off of the edge of the bed, Shizuo tightly clenched his fists at his sides. He was visibly shaking with rage, and why he hadn't thrown Izaya out the window along with his bed by now was a mystery to Izaya. Without saying anything, he turned and headed for the bedroom door, stopping just before he left. "Just get better, okay? If you need anything else…"

"I have your number."

"Yeah… Of course you do." Shizuo whispered. And with that, Shizuo walked out without another word.

Izaya waited until he heard his front door slam shut rather hard before reaching a hand up to clutch at his chest. Why…? Why did his chest hurt again…? This wasn't supposed to hurt, damn it!

He could feel the not-so-familiar stinging in his eyes but he quickly shook off the feeling with a few deep breaths. He was tired from the fever. That's all. He would just get some rest, and then everything would go back to normal. _Everything_.

Izaya rested his head back on his pillow, letting an arm drop out to the side. Under his hand, he could feel warmth emanating from where Shizuo had been sitting. His chest throbbed again, but he ignored it.

"I don't need anyone." Izaya declared aloud. "I'm perfectly fine alone."

And with that, he let himself drift to sleep, his hand still clutching the spot of warmth on his mattress.

…~-~…

**Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review! **


	8. Chapter 8

**KICKED ART HISTORY'S ASS TODAY. FUCK YEAH. **

**Okay, I'm almost to 50 reviews and we're just over half way through this story, so… You guys want to help me get my first fic with 100 reviews? Because that would be SO AMAZING, and I would probably CRY WITH JOY! :O**

…~-~…

The sun had already begun to set when Shizuo finally made the decision to head home. He had been aimlessly walking around Ikebukuro for the past couple of hours trying to sort out what had happened and why. He didn't know all of the details, but he knew this: Izaya was in love with him, but he refused to do anything about it.

All his life, Shizuo had wanted someone who would accept him for who he is, only to find out that the one person who would is also the one person who never will. Even knowing that it was Izaya who had loved him all this time didn't bother him. Hell, he didn't even know what had really started their fighting to begin with. He'd probably be just fine with the Flea by now if he had never started messing with his life.

"_Remember the day I got you arrested, and you lost your job as a bartender?"_

Could all of the cruel things Izaya had done to him in the past be explained by that twisted love of his? All of those times in high school when he would mock Shizuo because he struggled on a test, or couldn't figure out his homework… How the hell was he supposed to know that the Flea loved him if he acted like that? Then again, Izaya _did_ say that he never planned to tell Shizuo about this. Could it be that Izaya only messed with him to get his attention? That was a possibility, but there was no way to be sure.

Feeling his anger begin to boil up, Shizuo turned into a nearby alley, and punched the wall. The brick cracked and left a large dent where his fist had been, but he had managed to hold back enough that he didn't go _through_ the wall. Once he was able to calm down again, Shizuo headed back to his apartment, desperately wanting to try and relax. Maybe Izaya would come to his senses after a while… You know, once pigs sprout wings and fly. How long could that take? Or maybe he should just take Izaya's advice and forget about the whole thing.

Shizuo sighed. He noticed he'd been doing that a lot lately. Sluggishly, he approached his apartment door and stepped inside. It wasn't late, but he decided he should just go to bed and hope that tomorrow would be a better day.

After changing into his pajamas, Shizuo flopped down into his bed only to frown when he realized he could smell Izaya on his pillow and blankets. With another sigh, Shizuo stood up and brought his blankets and sheets to the wash, then grabbed an extra blanket from the closet and moved to the couch. Shizuo made himself comfortable, and eventually managed to fall asleep.

…~-~…

_His back arched into every deep thrust, feeling Shizuo go deeper and deeper inside every time he pushed his hips back. They were both very close when Shizuo leaned in to lick and nibble the shell of Izaya's ear. _

"_I love you, Izaya." He whispered_

_Izaya moaned and reached his arms around Shizuo, desperate for something to hold on to. Shizuo's thrusts became increasingly well aimed until he managed to hit Izaya's prostate fully with every movement of his hips. Izaya threw his head back when the sensation started to become too much. _

_Taking advantage of the opportunity, Shizuo bent forward and began to suck on a spot on his neck, causing Izaya's moans to grow in volume. Suddenly, he felt a hand wrap around his length, pumping it in time with Shizuo's thrusts. The pace quickened before Shizuo whispered in Izaya's ear again._

"_Come for me, Izaya."_

_The two sensations became too much, causing Izaya to suddenly tense up as he came. Hot streams of white shot from his arousal while the rest of his body shook with the force of his orgasm. Izaya practically screamed in ecstasy when Shizuo continued to pump him through his orgasm, drawing it out to a point where his entire body convulsed due to overstimulation. _

…~-~…

Izaya awoke with a jolt, covered in sweat and breathing heavily. He shifted in his bed only to realize that he had come in his pants.

"Shit. How old am I, fifteen?" Izaya complained aloud as he stood from his bed and threw his clothes into the laundry bin.

He stepped into his bathroom, ready to take a shower when something caught his attention in the mirror. There was a small fading bruise on his collar bone. It stood out brilliantly against the rest of his flawless pale skin, causing Izaya's jaw to drop in utter disbelief.

"That… That brute _marked_ me!" He yelled at his own reflection.

Quickly turning away from the mirror, Izaya turned the shower on and stepped inside. The warm water ran down over his body, washing away the sheen of sweat and the sticky white fluid from between his legs. Izaya grimaced at the thought of that dream. Sure, he had a few dreams like that back in high school when he first met Shizuo, but nothing really to this extent. He could still feel his body tingling from his release—even though he wasn't even conscious for it.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop thinking about that damn dream. Not to mention how it felt in real life… So far, having sex with Shizuo was proving to be the worst decision of his life. It kept coming back to haunt him in the most unpredictable ways—much like the brute himself. Izaya sighed as he felt himself begin to get hard again at the images and sounds flashing through his head. He reached down and gave an experimental tug on his half-hard member only to be reminded of Shizuo grabbing hold of it in his dream.

"Haah…" Izaya breathed, feeling himself quickly come to full arousal. He could still feel echoes of Shizuo's touch on his body—mostly the way his rough hands had held his hips while he plunged inside.

Izaya moaned at the mere memory of Shizuo filling him up. He began stroking his arousal much faster, trying to time it with the thrusts in his memories. Soon enough without Izaya noticing, his hips had begun to thrust lightly into his hand at a slightly irregular pace. Izaya closed his eyes, feeling the water run over his body which was now sensitive enough to feel every drop of water caress his skin.

Bracing one arm on the shower wall, he let his hand continue its pace, slowing every once in a while to run his thumb over the head while his forefinger traced the sensitive underside sending sparks through his system. He pumped faster and faster until his body couldn't handle it anymore and he suddenly released against the wall. Izaya continued running his hand up and down his length to prolong his orgasm for as long as possible before his legs suddenly turned to gelatin, forcing him to his knees.

Taking a few moments to catch his breath, Izaya watched as his release slowly trickled down the wall and into the drain. Izaya scowled at it and once he found strength in his legs again, he quickly removed the showerhead and washed it away.

Izaya placed the showerhead back and leaned against the wall. Why? Why is this happening now of all times? This was all Shiki's fault! He was the one who tied Izaya up outside in the first place! … But then again, Izaya had been the one to mess with Akane to begin with…

He knew the girl wouldn't actually be able to hurt Shizuo, and he knew that Shizuo wouldn't hurt a little girl. It was just harmless fun in Izaya's eyes, but the yakuza boss didn't seem to agree.

Damn it…

A sharp pain shot up Izaya's arm before he realized he had smashed his fist into the shower wall. It didn't matter how this had happened. The problem was that he had let himself be overcome by his feelings, and now Shizuo knew everything. All Izaya wanted was to go back to what they were before this entire incident. _Exactly_ like before.

…~-~…

**See that review button? You should click it and type words into it. ;D **

**Again, thank you all for reading, and I hope you have a Shizaya-filled day!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you all for the reviews/faves/alerts! It means a lot! It really makes me happy to hear that there are people out there who get excited when they see this fic updated! It fills me with more joy than Izaya gets when he watches his humans! ( THAT'S A LOT.) **

**Enjoy chapter 9! :D**

...~-~…

Once Izaya had finally made it out of the shower, he dragged himself down the stairs, made himself some breakfast, and got to work answering the 94 e-mails he had gotten since almost two days ago. He'd only gotten through about 12 of them by the time Namie arrived with her usual sour expression. She set her things down before suddenly glaring up at Izaya.

"Where the hell were you yesterday? You could have at least called." She complained.

"What, not even a proper 'Good morning, Izaya-san'?" Izaya teased. "Besides, I would have called if I had my phone on me yesterday."

"Well why the hell didn't you? I figured by now you would have asked your weird doctor friend to surgically attach it to your body."

"Where would you get an idea like that?" Izaya scoffed. "It's none of your business why I didn't have my phone. If you ask again, I won't pay you."

With a sigh, Namie plopped down into her chair. "Fine. Just tell me what you need done today."

"Hmm…" Izaya looked from his computer screen to Namie, then back again. It _would_ be funny to make her go through all of these e-mails, but he preferred to do that part himself. What would piss her off the most would be a good question… "Why don't you clean the apartment? I know I have some dishes that still need to be done!"

Immediately, he could tell that Namie was seeing red. "Why you little—"

Izaya cut her off by pulling out his wallet and simply pointing to it. Namie got the message and swiftly turned on her heels heading for the kitchen.

"Please don't tell me you want me to do your laundry too!" She called over her shoulder.

Izaya opened his mouth, ready to give the order when he remembered his… problem this morning. That would raise a few questions. "That won't be necessary." He responded flatly.

Cursing inwardly, Izaya tried in vain to clear his head of thoughts of Shizuo and his dream. It would be a lot easier if he didn't actually have the experience of feeling Shizuo push inside of him, making the images in his head much more vivid than they should be.

He shook his head to dispel the thoughts, focusing on his e-mail again.

Someone wanted a background check on the head of a rival company.

_Shizuo pounded into him, stretching his muscles to accommodate his length. _

Another person was looking to dig up dirt on her ex.

_The thrusts pass over his prostate, making him cry out each time Shizuo forced his way back inside._

The next man was in a similar position to what happened to Namie. His company was about to be bought out, and he wanted information on how to stop it.

_A large hand wrapped around his arousal and stroked it quickly in time with the thrusts. _

Izaya froze just before opening the next e-mail. He was getting hard _again_. Right there, sitting at his desk, with Namie just one room over. He could see her back facing him through the small opening in the dividing wall between the kitchen and living room. Looking down, Izaya determined it wasn't too noticeable, but Namie _was_ very perceptive…

The more he thought about it, the more difficult it would be to get rid of it, so Izaya simply continued looking through his e-mail, doing his best to ignore the images in his head. Soon, Izaya managed to calm himself down a little, only to nearly jump out of his chair when Namie slammed her fists on the desk next to him.

"I'm done with your damn dishes. What else…" Namie trailed off and studied Izaya's face for a moment. "Are you okay? Your face is a little red."

Izaya willed his breathing to remain calm. As long as Namie didn't look down, he'd get away with it. "Ah, I had a bit of a fever yesterday. I guess I'm not completely over it."

It wasn't really a lie, right? Even though he did feel much better than yesterday…

Namie gave him a skeptical look, and the shrugged. "So what else do I have to do?"

"Just keep cleaning," Izaya responded quickly, "There are some books I left out the other day you can organize. I'll have some real work for you in a little while."

As soon as Namie turned her back, Izaya let out a silent sigh of relief. He looked down and happily noted that the bulge in his pants had gone down considerably before getting back to his e-mails.

A few hours later, Izaya had made a good size dent in his inbox, and had Namie organizing the ones he'd already read into categories. Every once in a while, thoughts of Shizuo would pass through his head, but he managed to force them out fairly easily, ensuring he would avoid another situation like the one earlier.

Izaya stretched his arms over his head, feeling his spine crack a few times from being hunched over his computer for so long. His eyes were beginning to grow tired while his legs became more and more restless by the minute. Izaya quickly stood up and grabbed his coat.

"I'm going for a walk. I might stop by Russia Sushi, would you like something? I haven't gone shopping, so there's nothing to eat here."

"Yeah, sure. Just don't get pummeled by Heiwajima-san on your way back." Namie replied simply.

Izaya stepped out the front door without responding to Namie. Ah, right. How could he forget? The brute would probably still be out working, meaning Izaya would have to take extra care to stay hidden. The last thing he wanted was to see that protozoan's face.

…~-~…

It had been a fairly slow day for Shizuo and Tom. Most of the debtors were long gone by the time they arrived, and the ones that they did manage to catch gave in as soon as they laid eyes on Shizuo. Now it was getting late, and Tom had offered to buy dinner for Shizuo before they ended the day. They sat at a back table in Russia Sushi, which seemed to be having a slow day as well even with Simon standing outside welcoming people to the store in broken Japanese.

"Shizuo, is something wrong?" Tom asked, noticing that Shizuo wasn't eating much. "You've been really quiet today."

"Hmm?" Shizuo looked up from his plate at the concern in his friend's voice. "Uhh… Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just thinking too much I guess…"

"Thinking about what? It's not like you to dwell on something for this long."

Shizuo sighed, plopping a piece of sushi in his mouth to buy time while he figured out how to explain what was going on.

"Well, someone kind of confessed to me yesterday." Shizuo mumbled.

Tom raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by '_kind of_ confessed'?"

"They didn't really mean to tell me I guess…"

"But that's still good news though, isn't it? You've finally found someone, right?" Tom asked hopefully.

"Not exactly… I mean, after they confessed, they said that they preferred to be alone for the rest of their life." Shizuo poked at his food with his chopsticks while he spoke, avoiding eye contact with Tom.

"Who is this person, Shizuo?" Tom asked, sounding very curious.

"I'd rather not say. Besides, doesn't matter. I've just been confused over that person's thinking." Except it did matter. Even though it was Izaya, Shizuo just wanted to feel accepted, and he knew he could if just one person admitted that they cared for him in a romantic way. Shizuo never had a girlfriend in high school for two main reasons: One, he was too afraid of hurting them, and two, they seemed to be afraid of him as well. With Izaya, neither seemed to be the case.

And it wasn't that he particularly liked the idea of being involved with Izaya, but… He couldn't help but feel bad that Izaya had been hiding from him for so long. He just wished he could better understand _why_. Nobody could truly want to be alone for the rest of their life, could they? Sure, Izaya never really had any friends other than Shinra, but could he really be okay with that? Could he really go his entire life without feeling love? Yeah, Izaya is a heartless bastard, but he's still human underneath all of his masks and tricks.

"Shizuo?" Tom called, pulling Shizuo from his speculation. "Let's head out. We have one more person to take care of before we're done for the day."

Shizuo shook his head as if doing so could actually clear his mind. "Yeah, okay." He responded.

…~-~…

Tom wondered if Shizuo would really be okay. He knew about Shizuo's desire for acceptance, and now some girl came along and crushed his hopes.

…Or so he thought until something strange happened.

Just after walking out of Russia Sushi, Tom noticed the familiar twitch in Shizuo's frame, signifying that none other than Orihara Izaya was nearby. Tom quickly followed Shizuo's gaze to see Izaya heading towards them. The informant didn't seem to notice them at first like he usually did, and that's when Tom realized why. Shizuo hadn't yet called him out or thrown anything at him. Looking to his side, Tom examined Shizuo's expression. He definitely looked pissed, but he seemed to be holding back unlike usual.

Tom looked back in Izaya's direction just in time for Izaya to look up as well. When Izaya noticed Shizuo, Tom couldn't miss the sudden shade of red that covered Izaya's face before he hastily turned his head and ran into a nearby alley.

Now, Izaya running away at the sight of Shizuo was nothing new, but there were a few things that confused Tanaka Tom in that moment. The first thing being that Shizuo did not make his appearance known with the usual attack on Izaya. Second, that shade of red that covered Izaya's face that looked suspiciously like a blush. And third, even as Izaya ran, Shizuo simply stood and watched making no move to chase his nemesis as was the tradition of their encounters.

And then it hit him. Shizuo never said it was a _woman_ who confessed to him…

Tom would never voice his realization out loud for fear of being thrown half way across the city, but after knowing Shizuo for so long, and seeing how he and Izaya usually greeted each other…

There was no doubt in Tom's mind that Izaya had been the person Shizuo had been referring to earlier.

…~-~…

**:D **

**Thanks for reading and don't forget to review! **


	10. Chapter 10

**:O Oh my, looking through my reviews, I just wanted to say that it makes me so happy that at least one of my readers is actually learning something from my writing! You have no Idea how much that means to me to hear that! THANK YOU SO MUCH! **

**We are nearing the climax of this story, I'll warn you now, the end of this chapter is a bit suspenseful, but it's all part of the build-up to the moment you're all waiting for! :D**

**As always, thank you for reading/reviewing, and enjoy chapter 10! **

…~-~…

There was a sharp knock on his bedroom door, followed by a flood of light flowing into Izaya's bedroom. He didn't know how long he had been lying face down in his bed in complete darkness until Namie poked her head in.

"Izaya? You alive in here?" She asked out of curiosity.

"Go away." Izaya mumbled into his pillow.

"Just give me some work to do or something. It's already 4:00pm! Are you ever going to get out of bed?"

"Take the rest of today and tomorrow off. I'll pay you for two full day's work." Anything to get her to leave him alone…

"Fine." She responded simply, closing the door behind her. Izaya let out a long breath when he heard her leave through the front door a few minutes later.

It had been a month since Shizuo had found Izaya on the sidewalk, but Izaya didn't feel any better. Sure, he wasn't sick anymore, but after what he had been feeling in the past month, he'd take hypothermia any day.

He was fatigued, he barely had an appetite, and he couldn't sleep because every time he did he would be assaulted by strange dreams. The worst of it had to be the odd feeling he experienced almost twenty-four hours a day. It just felt so abnormal to him. The only way he could describe it was that he felt empty… Almost as if his chest had been hallowed out, but at the same time he knew everything was still there because of how much it hurt. The pain in his chest was something he could recognize from his high school days, but he couldn't explain why he felt so damn _empty_.

He'd never considered himself to be a lonely person by any means. In fact, he had always been quite happy being alone. There was no one to give him orders, no one that required his constant attention or affection. He was happy. Wasn't he?

The answer was no. Izaya was not happy even though he had everything to be happy about. It wasn't until that night he'd spend with Shizuo that he realized that something was missing in his life. He still loved Shizuo. He was aware of that fact, and had never forgotten. However, it wasn't until he actually experienced being with Shizuo that he realized the extent of that love. His love ran much deeper than he'd care to admit, and now it became a deep burning pain that he wasn't able to escape from.

Izaya bit his lip, holding back the tears that had been threatening to pour for a month. He wouldn't allow it. He wasn't allowed to cry for that protozoan. If Izaya let his tears run, all he'd be doing is illustrating how much control Shizuo had over his heart.

With a long sigh, Izaya pulled himself into a sitting position. There was a dull throbbing in his head, and his sides ached. He was probably dehydrated considering he hadn't eaten or had anything to drink in nearly two days. His muscles protested as he stood up on unbalanced legs and shuffled out of his bedroom.

The first thing that hit him was the light. The large windows were just the right size for the setting sun to be clearly visible from where he stood, assaulting his sensitive eyes with brightness. Evidently, locking yourself in a dark room for nearly twenty-four hours made it difficult to adjust to changes in lighting.

Blinking a few times, Izaya dragged himself down the stairs and over to the kitchen where he poured himself a glass of water. He debated grabbing something to eat from his refrigerator, but the thought of eating anything at the moment made him nauseous, so he just downed the water instead.

Izaya carried himself over to the couch and dropped onto it quite ungracefully, releasing a long sigh as he did so. It was quiet without Namie there. He almost regretted sending her home… Almost.

Lying on his back, Izaya brought his hands to his head to lightly rub his temples. His headache wasn't going away, and his chest was still hurting as well.

Thoughts of Shizuo continued flashing through his mind, and he couldn't stop it even though it only made his chest hurt more.

Fuck, it felt like his chest was being run over by a truck every time he so much as thought of the damn protozoan's name!

He couldn't keep going on like this. The constant ache and fatigue was starting to get to him, and Izaya estimated it wouldn't be long before it drove him mad. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed to see Shizuo. Maybe if he could just see the blonde once, that would be enough…

No… It wouldn't. Who the hell is he kidding? If he went to see Shizuo now, it would only make things worse. If he could hold out just a little longer, then the pain would go away… Just like in high school.

All he had to do was wait it out, and avoid Shizuo for a while longer. Maybe another month would do it?

"Nnnghh…"

Curse that noise that just escaped his throat. Damn it to hell for finding its way out. He could handle another month without seeing Shizuo! He didn't need that damn brute!

Izaya rolled on to his side and let his body curl up into itself until he was as small as his body would allow. Closing his eyes, Izaya tried to relax, praying to a God he didn't believe in to make the pain go away so he could just sleep. He was exhausted. Physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted.

"Make it stop." He whispered to no one in particular. "Make it stop. Make it stop."

He repeated the words to himself until his body finally gave in and allowed him to sleep.

…~-~…

Less than an hour later, Izaya's eyes snapped open. Again… All he could see in his dreams was Shizuo. This was getting ridiculous if he couldn't even sleep for an hour without being forced awake by the burning in his chest.

"That's it… I can't do this anymore!" He declared aloud.

Izaya uncurled his body and pulled himself off of the couch. He rushed to the door and tugged on his coat and shoes before running out of his apartment.

He ran. He ran as fast as his legs would allow him to after a month of sitting around and doing nothing. His precious humans watched him as he passed, but he couldn't care less about them right now. All he could think about was getting to Shizuo's apartment. What was he going to do when he got there? He had no clue.

The air was cold and dry as the first snow of the season began falling down around Izaya. He just kept on running, feeling the cold air being drawn into his lungs with every breath. He ran through alleys, behind buildings, and some of the less busy streets so he wouldn't have to stop for anything. All that mattered to him was his destination, and no "Don't Walk" sign was going to slow him down.

Honestly, how he made it to Ikebukuro without getting hit by a car must have been some sort of miracle. He was so close… Only one block away.

And before he knew it, he was standing outside of Shizuo's building. Cautiously, Izaya stepped inside, suddenly having a small flashback to being dragged through this building by Shizuo. Once he found Shizuo's door, he froze.

'What am I _doing_?" He thought.

Here he was, cold and out of breath, standing in front of Shizuo's apartment like in some crappy romance movie. Yet still, he couldn't stop himself from knocking on the door, half hoping that Shizuo wasn't even home.

Izaya was about to turn and run for it before he could even find out; however, in that exact moment, the door opened, Shizuo standing in the frame.

…~-~…

**You all probably hate me right now! XD Sorry for the cliffy!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Guess what! I won a Shizaya Valentine's day contest on Deviantart! :D Take a look because you love me! XD **

**http:/ kappaoodobi(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Happy-Valentines-Day-284568716**

**Oh my, we're catching up to the part of this story that I haven't written yet! D: I will try to finish it on time to ensure the updates don't slow down, but I can't guarantee that because I just bought both Spyro games: A New Beginning, AND Eternal Night. It's getting really difficult to balance classes, Spyro, and fanfiction! D: I'll try to hurry, but I don't want to rush the ending! **

…~-~…

Izaya stood there, dumbfounded while Shizuo looked at him expectantly. Damn it, was the brute expecting him to show up or something? He didn't look the least bit surprised to see him like this!

No. He couldn't go through with this.

"This was a mistake. Sorry." Izaya quickly turned and was about to run for it when he felt Shizuo grip his upper arm, effectively preventing him from running away.

"What made you come here?" He asked the question as if he already knew the answer.

"Nothing." Izaya responded coldly. "I'm leaving now." He tried to tug his arm free to no avail.

"You wouldn't just show up like this without a reason." Shizuo pulled him in closer. Much too close for Izaya's comfort. "Tell me, what drove you to come here now of all times?"

"I… I…" He didn't know what to say. This man had been causing him so much pain in the last month… Hell, the last _eight years_! He tried to hold it back. He really did. But now that he was in such close proximity to Shizuo, he couldn't hold it back no matter how desperately he wanted to.

He cried. For the first time in eight long years, Izaya cried. And how fitting that it would be Shizuo who was the first to see his tears. He tried to wipe the tears away with his sleeve, but they wouldn't stop pouring down his cheeks. Izaya felt Shizuo's grip loosen while his other hand reached up and gently moved Izaya's arm from his face.

"C'mon inside. Don't want you getting sick again."

Shizuo gently pulled Izaya inside where he removed his snow-covered jacket and his shoes. Izaya let Shizuo lead him over to the couch where they sat down, Izaya still unable to stop the tears from flowing. Crying only made him feel worse, but at this point it was still better than trying to hold it in.

It wasn't until Izaya felt Shizuo's arm wrap around his shoulders that the pain finally began to dissipate. Izaya buried his face into Shizuo's chest, letting the tears continue to fall while small sobs escaped his lips.

After a few minutes, Izaya managed to compose himself. He took a deep breath and allowed Shizuo to hold him for a few minutes in silence.

"I just wanted to be alone." Izaya said quietly. "Why did you have to ruin it for me?"

"What do you mean by that?" Shizuo questioned.

"Ever since the night we had sex… I just couldn't stop thinking about you. I had gotten past that phase in high school, but then being with you brought it back worse than before! I was doing just fine being alone until then!"

"Izaya, I—"

"I hate you!" Izaya yelled. "I hate you, and I hate what you've reduced me to!" There was a short pause in which Izaya's voice softened. "I hate you, but… I love you. Damn it, I love you so much that it hurts!"

Before Izaya could continue, Shizuo covered his mouth with his own, placing his hand on the back of Izaya's head to prevent him from moving away. Izaya kept his mouth closed at first but it didn't take long for Shizuo to force his tongue past Izaya's lips.

Izaya struggled, not wanting Shizuo to make things worse, but he was completely powerless to stop it. The warm tingling sensation that suddenly shot through his body was the best thing he'd felt in the past month. He quickly gave in and allowed Shizuo to explore his mouth, far too lost in the feeling to even think about resistance anymore. All he could do was focus on the way Shizuo's tongue passed over his own and the way his fingers lightly ran through his hair.

Soon after, Izaya allowed his arms to wrap around the back of Shizuo's neck, pulling him closer and suddenly deepening the kiss, eliciting a small sound of surprise from Shizuo.

A few moments later, Shizuo broke the kiss. "If you were this desperate, why didn't you just come here sooner? You're too stubborn for your own good."

Izaya's only response was to seal their lips together again as if he could make up for all of those times in the past when he so desperately wanted those lips on his own. But now his secret was out, and there was no way he could go back to being alone after experiencing being with Shizuo. And Izaya had to admit, Shizuo was a great kisser whether he knew it or not.

While his tongue continued to twirl against Izaya's, Shizuo turned their bodies so that Izaya was lying on his back on the couch with Shizuo over him—not once separating their lips. When Shizuo did pull away from the kiss, it was only a second before his mouth planted itself on Izaya's neck, just below his jaw line, and began to gently suck and nip on the spot. Izaya's hands scratched at Shizuo's shoulders as a small moan escaped his lips. Apparently his neck was much more sensitive than he thought, especially when Shizuo moved lower to kiss the pulse in his neck.

Izaya lifted his head, exposing his neck and encouraging Shizuo to continue. Who would have thought that this would feel so good? Sure, the first time with Shizuo felt great, but now that Izaya was on the receiving end, he practically melted into a puddle at the attention—especially when he felt Shizuo tug his shirt up over his head, before removing his own shirt and revealing his bare chest.

And then he saw it. Maybe he didn't notice the first time because of the heat of the moment, but now he could see it clear as day. The single thin line of a scar across Shizuo's chest from the day that they met—the permanent mark that made Shizuo _his_ after all of these years.

Shizuo seemed to notice Izaya's staring because next thing he knew, Shizuo was whispering in his ear. "Should I mark you again as revenge for this?" He lightly nibbled the shell of Izaya's ear, causing Izaya to shiver.

Before Izaya could respond, Shizuo was already sucking hard on Izaya's neck, just above his collar bone where the previous mark had already faded. Izaya let out a low moan as Shizuo marked him, feeling Shizuo's hand run up the inside of his left thigh at the same time.

Once Izaya felt Shizuo stop sucking, he opened his eyes, unaware of when he closed them. He could feel Shizuo's hot breath trail up along his neck while he traced the shell of Izaya's ear with his fingertip.

"Mine." He whispered into Izaya's ear.

"Haaah…" Izaya moaned, feeling the tingling sensation become full blown arousal at the utterance of the word from Shizuo's lips.

Izaya's moans grew louder as Shizuo began lightly running his hands over Izaya's torso, paying extra attention to the two hardening pink buds that stood out on his chest. Covering one with his mouth, Shizuo rubbed the other with his thumb, eliciting more sounds from Izaya in the process.

"Nnnaaah!" He didn't know when he had become so vocal, but having Shizuo do these things to him was overwhelming. Eight years of unrequited love and repressed feelings… Izaya was quickly losing the ability to think clearly as Shizuo continued peppering kisses across his chest and neck.

"Izaya…" Shizuo whispered between kisses along Izaya's collarbone. "Don't move."

"Nnggh…?" Izaya shifted on the couch when Shizuo stood and quickly turned the corner into his room. Izaya took a few moments to catch his breath, noticing just how much his arousal was straining against his pants. He reached down and began fumbling with his belt when Shizuo walked back in with the same small bottle of lube that they had used the first time.

Setting the bottle to the side, Shizuo quickly helped Izaya out of his pants and boxers before removing the remnants of his own clothing. Shizuo leaned over Izaya and locked their lips together again as he gently stroked Izaya's arousal, running his thumb over the slit a few times.

"HAAAH! Shizu-chan!" Izaya cried out breaking the kiss as Shizuo stroked him, feeling waves of ecstasy rush through his body as his blood ran south. He steadily began thrusting into Shizuo's hand, wanting nothing more than to feel Shizuo touching him.

Shizuo quickly stopped his ministrations to grab the lube, smiling softly at the small sound of disappointment that came from Izaya when he did so. After coating his fingers with the lube as Izaya did a month ago, Shizuo turned to Izaya with a slightly uncertain look.

"I've never done this before…" He admitted, "Just let me know if I'm hurting you."

"You won't." Izaya breathed, unable to take his eyes off of Shizuo's obscenely slick fingers.

…~-~…

**:3 Sorry to stop here, but I want to keep these chapters as even as possible! **

**Oh, I've picked a theme song for this fic too:**

**http:/ www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=1MdOXtTlE3Y&feature=related **


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry for being such a cock-block with that last chapter! Here's the rest! :D**

…~-~…

Izaya kept his eyes on those fingers as they lowered to his entrance, lightly circling it in an explorative way. Izaya moaned, already wanting more of that touch, but he knew that Shizuo wouldn't be confident enough to go too fast. After all, Izaya had prepared himself the first time, so Shizuo was probably nervous about doing something wrong.

Slowly, the finger that had been circling his hole slipped inside, causing Izaya's head to roll back and his mouth to drop open in pure ecstasy. It didn't last long before Shizuo quickly removed his finger, leaving Izaya to let out a small whimper.

"Did I hurt you?" Shizuo asked worriedly.

Izaya let out a small chuckle. "Quite the opposite, Shizu-chan…" He said, panting slightly.

It seemed to take Shizuo a moment to register what Izaya meant, but once he did, a smile spread across his face. He quickly returned to what he was doing, and pressed his finger back inside of Izaya while the latter let out a long moan.

Izaya closed his eyes as Shizuo moved his finger in and out a few times, feeling Izaya's muscles begin to relax around him. He had just begun to wonder if he should add a second finger when Izaya spoke.

"More."

That single word was enough for Shizuo as he gently placed the second finger against the tight ring of muscle. Slowly, Shizuo pressed both fingers inside, feeling how tight Izaya was as he reflexively clamped down on the intrusion.

Izaya could feel Shizuo's fingers stretch him wide as he tried to relax. His eyes were now shut tight as he focused on keeping his lower half as loose as possible. However, this didn't last very long when Shizuo unexpectedly pressed his fingers upward, a quick thrust rubbing them over Izaya's prostate.

"AHHH!" Izaya cried out and clamped down at the sudden spark that shot through his system. This time, Shizuo seemed to understand what he had done, and continued running his fingers around that spot, experimentally pressing harder and softer and gauging Izaya's reactions.

Once he found the perfect amount of pressure, he didn't let up. Izaya became a panting and moaning mess as Shizuo pressed on that spot, then began rubbing small circles around it, and every once in a while, he'd curl his fingers up against it. By the time Shizuo added the third finger, Izaya was much too close.

"Sh-Shizu-chan… wait… I'm gonna…"

Shizuo seemed to understand what Izaya was trying to say before he even finished his sentence. Izaya let out a shaky breath when Shizuo's fingers stilled, and just sat inside of him. They stayed like that for a few moments as Izaya gathered himself and nodded, signaling to Shizuo that he was ready to continue.

Carefully, Shizuo removed his fingers and used the last of the lube to coat himself as he lined up with Izaya's entrance.

"Ooohh…" Izaya could feel Shizuo stretch him wide as the head entered, even more so as Shizuo continued to push inside inch by inch. Izaya's let out a drawn out moan as Shizuo's size allowed for a constant pressure to be applied over his prostate while he entered. He felt Shizuo's cock pulse inside of him as he continued to push in deeper, all the while running over Izaya's sweet spot.

Once he was fully inside, Shizuo paused and leaned forward to lightly trail kisses from Izaya's jaw over to his lips where he left a small, chaste kiss that had Izaya leaning up for more as Shizuo pulled away. Izaya's head dropped back onto the couch, unable to move any further with the feeling of being so completely filled. He lightly clenched down on Shizuo, suddenly needing much more.

"You ready?" Shizuo whispered.

"Yeah." Izaya breathed.

Izaya choked back a cry as Shizuo pulled almost all the way out before thrusting back inside to the hilt. Even being properly prepared, Izaya still wasn't completely used to the feeling of having something push into him and pull out again. Whenever Shizuo pulled out, he felt empty, but when he pushed back in, Izaya felt almost too full. Oddly enough, the second time with Shizuo had Izaya feeling much more than he did the first. All he knew was that after this, there was no way he would be able to go back to being alone. He needed Shizuo. He needed this man who was ever-so-carefully thrusting into him.

"Fuck… You're so tight…" Shizuo breathed, sending hot breath over Izaya's neck.

Shizuo had hit Izaya's prostate almost instantly after entering, and he continued to brush over that spot over and over, listening to Izaya's breathing become much heavier. After a few more thrusts, Shizuo gently wrapped an arm around Izaya, placing a hand on the small of Izaya's back. Pressing his fingers into Izaya's back, Shizuo forced his hips up and making it easier for him to hit Izaya's sweet spot.

"Ahh! Shizu-chan!" Izaya panted, every touch of Shizuo's skin against his own burning into his skin.

"Izaya…" Shizuo whispered, "Izaya… Izaya…"

A small sound fell from Izaya's mouth each time Shizuo whispered his name, as if the simple act of saying his name added to the intensity of the thrusts. Izaya could feel that he was getting close, and it was then that Shizuo wrapped his hand around Izaya's arousal and began pumping it in perfect time to the thrusts against his prostate. The sensation was too much for Izaya to handle, bordering on overstimulation until he felt his lower abdomen spasm as orgasm hit him hard.

Izaya's back arched, his head fell back, and his mouth dropped open as he came, streaks of white spurting from his arousal and landing on his stomach and chest—as well as on Shizuo's hand as the blonde continued to stroke him through his climax. Izaya clenched down hard on Shizuo buried deep inside of him until Shizuo doubled over with a rather loud moan as he too released as Izaya's muscles sucked him in.

They stayed like that for a few moments, with Shizuo panting and Izaya underneath him breathing equally as heavily. Without a word, Shizuo shifted their bodies on the couch so that Izaya was now lying on top of him, still trying to catch his breath. The pair just lay there, drifting in a state of half consciousness as a warm tingling feeling spread through both of them in their post-orgasmic haze.

Izaya took a deep breath and let out a long exhale as he relaxed fully against Shizuo's broad chest and closed his eyes.

…~-~…

**Sorry this was kind of short! Forgive meeee! **

**Thanks for reading, and don't forget to leave a review! You know I love 'em! :D**


	13. Chapter 13

****And now your fanfiction weather forecast. **

**Today we will be having a full day of Shizaya with a 100% chance of a FLUFF STOOORRRRRMMM! ****

**All of you wanting a fluffy ending for this story, don't you worry, you'll get it! And it starts here! :D **

**Oh, and I just wanted to let you know that I entered chapter one of my story "Magic Mirror" into the fanfiction contest at Anime North 2012! This is my first time entering a contest like this, so I'm really excited! :D**

**Anyway, enjoy chapter 13!**

…~-~…

Izaya's eyes fluttered open at the feeling of Shizuo's hand on the back of his head, only for them to close again as Shizuo lightly ran his fingers through Izaya's hair. He let out a small contented sigh as those fingers moved along his scalp in just the right way that made Izaya melt.

Maybe he _had_ been lonely all of these years despite all that he had told himself. Otherwise this wouldn't feel so damn good… But how was he supposed to know? Izaya had never let _anyone_ get close to him—not even his parents, despite his mother's attempts to understand her son. He always made sure that there was a wall between the people in his life and his heart, never allowing anyone the privilege of knowing the true thoughts and feelings of Orihara Izaya.

And by showing his tears to Shizuo, Izaya had let the walls come crashing down. Lying with Shizuo who currently had one hand around his waist while his other hand was in his hair, Izaya felt vulnerable, yet at the same time he felt safe. Shizuo was the first person to see his tears, and subsequently, he was the first to truly be able to comfort Izaya. His mother had tried to help her son that day in high school, but how could she when she didn't know what was really going on? Shizuo knew the truth. And Izaya actually felt pretty good getting everything off of his chest. For the first time in a month, Izaya's chest didn't hurt. Where pain and emptiness had been was now a light pleasant feeling.

Izaya let himself relax completely as Shizuo lightly ran his fingers over the nape of his neck. He could feel goose bumps form down his arms at the tickling feeling as Shizuo continued to lightly trail his fingers over Izaya's bare shoulders and back up to his neck.

"That tickles." Izaya mumbled, shifting his body to look up at Shizuo.

Shizuo had a small smile on his face. "Didn't know you were ticklish, Flea."

"Yeah, well," Izaya began, returning the smile, "I didn't know you could be gentle, you protozoan."

"What, would you prefer me to throw you out the window?" Shizuo teased.

Instead of thinking of a witty retort, Izaya simply chuckled. "No, this is fine." He whispered, placing his head back down on Shizuo's chest.

They were silent for a few more minutes, with Izaya nearly falling asleep as Shizuo continued his soothing ministrations.

"You never answered my question earlier…" Shizuo stated, breaking the silence, and pulling Izaya back to awareness.

"Hmm?"

"What happened that you suddenly had to come here? You were out of breath like you ran here or something."

Izaya let out a small laugh. "I did run all the way here."

"But _why_?" Shizuo pressed.

Raising his head again, Izaya broke the contact between his head and Shizuo's hand by pulling himself off of Shizuo so he could sit upright. "I don't really know… I just… I _had_ to. There wasn't much reason behind it at all… It just hurt too much to stay away..."

"To be honest, you held out a lot longer than I thought you would." Shizuo said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Izaya interrogated.

"I just had a feeling that you wouldn't be able to go back to normal, and the only other option was… Well… _This_."

Izaya let out a long sigh. How is it that Shizuo could have predicted something that Izaya couldn't? It's not like Shizuo had any relationship experience to back up his prediction. His instincts were so spot on it was ridiculous… Simply _inhuman_. And for some reason, Izaya liked that quality of Shizuo. In a relationship with any other human, Izaya would be able to predict every move they made, and nothing would be considered special. But with Shizuo, he never knew what was coming next. The blonde had a knack for being different, whether he wanted to be or not. And it was that unpredictability that pulled Izaya towards him in the first place.

"Hey, Shizu-chan?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did this happen?" It wasn't as if Izaya was unhappy about this turn of events. It was more like he was just caught off guard. It was as if Shizuo had snuck in when he was most vulnerable, and forced him to pour out the contents of his heart that he had long ago buried deep inside… These were things that no one was ever supposed to know; yet here he was, naked in Shizuo's apartment for the second time in a month.

"Is it really that much of a problem for you?" Shizuo asked with a smile pulling at his lips.

Izaya turned his head away to look at the floor, placing his elbows on his knees and hunching forward. He thought for a few moments before responding. "I guess not…" He mumbled.

"Don't sound too excited or anything." Shizuo said sarcastically. "C'mon, we should go get cleaned up."

Shizuo stood and grabbed Izaya's hand to lead him to the bathroom. Turning on the water, Izaya let himself be pulled into the warm water.

"Ha. I'm feeling a bit of déjà vu, Shizu-chan." Izaya said laughing lightly to himself.

"Yeah, well, at least you're talking this time. Do you normally get quiet when you're sick? It kinda freaked me out."

"Aww, did Shizu-chan want to hear my voice?" Izaya teased, leaning in closer to Shizuo and wrapping his arms around his neck.

"Not necessarily."

Izaya didn't have the time to react before Shizuo sealed their lips together, and slipped his tongue into Izaya's mouth. He gave in instantly, wrapping his arms tighter around Shizuo's neck, while Shizuo's hands made their way down Izaya's back to rest on his hips, where his thumbs lightly rubbed circles over the pale skin.

Breaking the kiss, Izaya rested his head on Shizuo's shoulder. He was feeling rather worn out, and the warm water was relaxing enough to make him more aware of how tired he really was.

"You tired, Izaya?" Shizuo asked, picking up on Izaya's body language as he used Shizuo as a support to stay on his feet.

Izaya nodded into Shizuo's shoulder. "Mmhm."

"Well, let's hurry and get you cleaned up then."

He heard the snap of a bottle opening before he felt Shizuo's fingers run through his hair, working in the shampoo. Shizuo's touch was just as gentle as it had been earlier as he continued to rub, soon after maneuvering so that he could help Izaya rinse off.

Once they were clean, Shizuo handed Izaya a towel and dried himself off. When he looked back, Izaya had the towel wrapped around his waist and he was holding on to the sink as if to balance himself.

"Izaya? Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Izaya responded weakly, "I'm just feeling a little lightheaded, but I'm okay."

Izaya then stepped away from the sink as if to prove he was feeling fine, but there was a telltale wobble in his step that had Shizuo rushing over to Izaya side.

"Shizu-chan!" Izaya complained, "I'm fine! I just need to lie down for a few minutes."

"Let me help you then. I don't need you collapsing again." Shizuo said, pulling Izaya's arm over his shoulder.

Shizuo led Izaya back to the couch where Izaya sat and proceeded to pull on pieces of his clothing from the floor next to the couch.

"Izaya, you look a little bit pale… You're not getting sick again, are you?" Shizuo asked.

"No, I think I'm just dehydrated or something… I haven't exactly been eating very well the past few days…"

Shizuo moved to get a better look at Izaya's face. "When did you last eat?"

"Umm… Two days ago?" Izaya responded with a guilty looking grin.

"What? Why?"

Izaya shrugged. "I just wasn't hungry I guess… My mind has been on… Other things."

Shizuo felt a pang of guilt, knowing exactly what Izaya meant. "You should have just given in sooner, you idiot."

…~-~…

**Canon fact: It is implied in vol. 9 that Izaya is ticklish. ;D**

**Yes, we are nearing the end of this story. There's one more chapter plus and epilogue after this, so I guess that counts as two more chapters! So enjoy the last bit of the story while it lasts! :D**


	14. Chapter 14

**Bwah! Thank you all for such amazing reviews! :D I LOVE YOU ALL, THAT'S WHY I UPDATE! **

…~-~…

Izaya sat on the couch while Shizuo pulled on his clothes and began rummaging through the kitchen, looking for something of adequate nutrition for a starved Izaya.

It had just hit him how hungry he really was, and now that he wasn't focused on his emotions, Izaya was beginning to feel the physical effects of dehydration. His headache was coming back, and he was feeling rather lightheaded. He leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes, trying to will away the lightheadedness with the knowledge that his body only had to endure a few more minutes to get what it needed.

It was then that Izaya heard Shizuo call from the kitchen. "Do you mind if I just make an omelet again? I don't really have much food at the moment."

Izaya opened one eye to see Shizuo's head poking out from the small dividing wall between the kitchen and living room. "Yeah, that sounds good." He responded, turning on his side and closing his eyes again.

"I'll make sure to put less cheese on it."

Izaya let out a small chuckle that Shizuo remembered that little fact when he still seemed to hate him the last time he cooked for Izaya. Honestly, at this point it didn't matter what the food was, as long as he could get _something_ into his system.

Slowly, Izaya drifted off into a light sleep while Shizuo cooked in the kitchen, only to suddenly wake up to Shizuo lightly tapping his shoulder.

"Nngghh…?" Izaya pushed himself back up into a sitting position as Shizuo sat beside him and handed him the plate. The smell alone was enough to make Izaya's stomach rumble, earning a small smile from the blonde next to him.

"Just don't eat too fast, okay?" Shizuo advised.

"Okay, _mom_." Izaya teased, taking a large bite of omelet.

Shizuo headed back into the kitchen and returned with a glass of water, which Izaya took and drank between bites. He had to admit, Shizuo's cooking wasn't too bad at all. Well, at least his omelets were good. As Izaya continued to eat, he couldn't help but notice Shizuo watching him.

"Normally I'm the one watching people…" He said quietly, looking over at Shizuo.

"I just don't want you to end up passing out again or something."

"I'm fine, Shizu-chan. Really, I just need some rest." Izaya said, taking another bite.

"The last time you said you were fine you collapsed as soon as we got in the door of your apartment." Shizuo pointed out.

"Yeah, well… I was actually sick then." Izaya looked back at his plate and took a few more bites in silence.

When he finished eating, Shizuo took the plate and set it on the coffee table before turning back to Izaya.

"Feel better now?" He asked.

Izaya sat back on the couch and let out a small contented sigh. "Much better, actually." He admitted.

Izaya had to hold back his surprise when Shizuo leaned in and tousled his hair before leaning in and placing a small kiss on the side of his head.

"What was that for?" Izaya asked, trying as hard as he could to keep from blushing. Of course, he failed.

Shizuo smiled at the pink hue that dusted Izaya's cheeks. "I don't know… I just realized that sometimes you're kind of… Kind of cute."

There was a short period of silence before a sudden laughter filled the room coming from Izaya. "Excuse me, Shizu-chan? 'Cute'? You should choose your words a bit more wisely."

"I mean it," Shizuo stated, "I thought that blush was cute."

"I don't _blush_, Shizu-chan," Izaya said flatly, all humor faded from his voice, "I'm not some little school-girl."

"Okay, okay, fine. I'll just pretend that I didn't see your face turn pink. Oh, wait! There it goes again!"

Izaya desperately tried to hide his face from view as Shizuo spoke, knowing that it was probably a nice shade of red by now. He didn't know what had come over him. He had never blushed like this in his life, and now he couldn't seem to stop. He jumped slightly when Shizuo wrapped his arm around him and pulled him closer.

"Hey, it's not a bad thing, you know?" Shizuo said, rubbing Izaya's upper arm. "I think you're just tired."

"Y-yeah…" Izaya agreed, leaning in closer to Shizuo. Exhaustion was catching up with him considering how little he had slept the past month, and now all he wanted to do was sleep. It was strange to be thinking about sleep while pressed against Shizuo, but he wasn't going to complain. Shizuo was very warm, and being next to him was oddly comforting, especially the way he was lightly rubbing Izaya's arm. The act was so soothing, and Izaya soon found himself unable to keep his eyes open as he drifted off to sleep.

Shizuo turned to look at the man leaning against him. Izaya had fallen asleep leaning against him, and now he was almost too afraid to move lest he wake the exhausted informant. Carefully shifting into a more comfortable position for both of them, Shizuo studied Izaya's face for a few minutes. The smirk that is always present on his face disappeared into a much softer, more relaxed expression while he slept. He almost looked like a completely different person. Every once in a while, his face would grow tense as he shifted in his sleep, making Shizuo wonder if maybe Izaya suffered from nightmares. Shizuo tested that theory by gently rubbing his shoulder every time Izaya shifted in his sleep, and interestingly enough, Izaya seemed to relax much faster when he did so.

'I wonder what types of things Izaya dreams about?' Shizuo found himself thinking. He was immersed in a fairly shady business in the underground world, but he never seemed to be bothered by that. In fact, Izaya seemed to truly love what he did for a living no matter how dangerous it was. So what could possibly haunt Izaya in his dreams? Maybe he'd ask Izaya later, but for now, watching him sleep was beginning to make Shizuo tired as well. With a yawn, Shizuo slipped into a light sleep, holding Izaya in his arms.

…~-~…

_Izaya didn't know where he was. The best way to describe it was that he was _nowhere_. No matter which direction he looked, he couldn't see anything around him. It was all black, but what was strange was that he could still see his own body, meaning it wasn't dark. He was simply standing in a place of "nothingness". _

_He looked around frantically, trying to find a way out. It was then that he started running. He ran as fast as he could, desperately looking or a way out of this place. _

'_There's no one here…' He thought, 'Where everybody? Where is anybody?'_

_He ran and ran until his body couldn't take it anymore, and he fell to the ground hard, gasping for breath. He curled up into a ball on the ground—or rather just a black shape that supported him in the same way that a ground should—and pulled his knees to his chest. _

'_I'm alone… There's no one here… I'm alone…' _

_It was then that he felt something odd. There was something warm gently running up and down his arm. He suddenly felt warm and safe. However, when he opened his eyes, the feeling was gone, but he could see someone standing about fifteen meters away. As soon as Izaya looked up, the person began walking away from him._

"_Wait!" Izaya called, "Wait, don't leave me here!" _

_He tried to stand, but his legs wouldn't move. He pulled at them with his hands, trying to force them to move, to do _something _because the longer he was immobile, the farther away that person became. _

"_Please! No! Come back!" _

_Tears welled up in his eyes, further blurring the person walking away. He knew he was letting his mask fall away, but he didn't care because for some unknown reason, he desperately needed that person. He didn't know why, he just did. _

_Suddenly, Izaya was able to move his legs again. He quickly stood and chased after the disappearing figure ahead of him. He ran, but the heavy feeling in his legs forced him back to the ground. When he looked up again, the person was gone. _

"_No…" Izaya whispered, frantically looking around in all directions. "No, come back…"_

_Once again, Izaya curled up on the 'ground' and closed his eyes, feeling utterly hopeless. And that's when he heard it. _

"_It's okay." A voice above him said, "I'm here."_

_Izaya's eyes shot open as the warm patch on his arm reappeared. The simple touch brought such a calming feeling to him. He looked up and was finally he was able to see the person. _

_A blonde man in a bartender uniform._

"_Shi-Shizu-chan…?" Izaya whispered._

"_It's okay," Shizuo repeated, "You don't have to be afraid anymore. I'm here."_

…~-~…

Izaya awoke to find himself wrapped up securely in Shizuo's arms, with said man sleeping soundly with Izaya on top of him. Izaya shuddered slightly remembering his dream. He had had that dream before in the past month, but there was never anyone else there in that place with him, let alone Shizuo being there with him.

Hopefully, that would be the last of those dreams. He wasn't alone anymore, so it's not like his subconscious had anything else to tell him that he didn't already know.

"_It's okay. I'm here"_

Shizuo was here, holding him. Everything was going to be different between them now than it had over the years…

Eight years…

Eight years of hiding from this man, watching from afar, taunting him just for that bit of recognition…

It was all over. No more hiding, no more loving him from a distance, no more—well, maybe a _little_ bit of taunting… It _is_ fun after all.

Releasing a long breath, Izaya nuzzled closer to Shizuo—if getting closer was even possible—and inhaled the scent of the body wash they had used, along with the faint scent of cigarettes that clung to Shizuo's clothing.

"I love you, Shizu-chan." He whispered into Shizuo's neck.

As if he had heard him, Shizuo's arms tightened around Izaya just enough to relay the message:_ "I love you, too."_

**End.***

…~-~…

***IT'S NOT REALLY THE END. I still have an epilogue for you! :D This is just the end of the actual story! I hope you all enjoyed it! **

**Was Shizuo actually awake in that last bit? Not even I know that! You decide! XD**

**THANK YOU ALL FOR READING, and don't forget to review! **


	15. Epilogue

**The main reason I'm writing this epilogue is because Izaya deserves to feel good after all the emotional turmoil I put him through! XD I'll admit right now, I sort of have a back rub kink for some reason… I don't even… I love backrubs; therefore, Izaya gets backrubs. XD**

…~-~…

…~Six Months Later~…

"Come on, Flea!" Shizuo complained over the phone, "You can't be _that_ busy! It's been a week!"

"I know, I know…" Izaya droned, "Just give me another day."

"You're going to kill yourself at this rate, Izaya. Have you been eating? _Sleeping_?"

"I just ate lunch, and I took a nap earlier." Izaya informed.

"Yes, but did you sleep last night?" Shizuo pressed.

"I got about four hours. My body is used to this, Shizu-chan, I've always had times where I'd be swamped with work for a week or two."

"I'm coming over." Shizuo declared. "Just use your time while I'm there to take a break for a little while. I'm sure you need it."

"Just because you come here doesn't mean I'm going to stop working!" Izaya said in a sing-song voice.

"I'll be there after I'm done for the day." Shizuo stated before the line went dead without a formal "goodbye".

"Uh-oh, I think Shizu-chan is mad at me!" Izaya sang while continuing to pull mismatched bits of information into a single cohesive file.

Namie sat at her desk glaring daggers at her employer. Thankfully, Izaya hadn't forced her into staying longer than usual, but it definitely felt like she was there longer when Izaya started randomly babbling un-work-related comments.

"Good for him." She said flatly, turning her attention back to her work.

"Honestly, he worries too much! And he says he's going to come over and make me take a break! Hahaha!"

As Izaya broke into a laugh, Namie snapped her gaze back up to look at him.

"Wait, he's coming here?" She asked.

"Yes, is that a problem?" Izaya's tone told anyone listening that he clearly didn't care whether it was a problem or not.

Instead of responding, Namie simply stood up and gathered her things.

"Going somewhere?" Izaya queried.

Namie shot another glare in Izaya's direction as she stacked up the small mountain of files that had accumulated on her desk.

"I'm leaving." She said, "I don't need to be here while the two of you do whatever it is you do."

"What, you mean sex—?"

"I don't want to hear it." Namie declared over Izaya's teasing. Once she had everything, she swiftly spun on her heels and headed for the door.

"I won't be paying you for the entire day then!" Izaya called after her.

"Don't care." She responded flatly, slamming the door behind her.

Izaya laughed to himself once Namie was gone. It probably was for the best if she left now. Especially since Shizuo and Izaya hadn't seen each other at all in the past week, not even Izaya knew what was going to happen when Shizuo arrived. Maybe Shizuo would jump him and use sex to distract him from his work.

'Hmm… That actually doesn't sound too bad…' Izaya mused. However, he wasn't going to give in very easily. Shizuo would have to literally start screwing him where he sat before Izaya would actually give in. And after six months, Izaya knew that would be too forward of a thing for Shizuo to try. After all, Shizuo was quite the gentleman in bed.

Izaya leaned back in his chair, flexing his shoulder muscles which were stiff from being hunched over his computer for hours. Straightening his back produced numerous cracking noises down his spine paired with an acute pain between his shoulder blades, making Izaya wonder if taking a break actually _was_ a good idea.

'No, just get this done, and then you can have all the time you need for a break.' Izaya silently told himself. Rolling his head around in a circle produced several more cracks as Izaya bent back over his computer.

An hour had passed by the time Izaya heard his door being unlocked. He had given Shizuo a spare key quite early in their relationship, and it was proving to be useful for times like this when Izaya was stuck at his desk.

Izaya glanced over to the door as Shizuo stepped inside and removed his shoes, but it was only a glance before he was back focusing on his computer screen.

"Let me guess," Shizuo began, heading over towards Izaya, "You've been at it nonstop since I called you, right?"

"Why wouldn't I be, Shizu-chan?" Izaya asked, still looking straight at the screen in front of him.

Shizuo sighed. "Being at the computer for this long can't be good for your health, especially after a whole _week_, Izaya."

"Don't worry about me," Izaya said, while still typing something completely different, "Like I said, my body is used to this, and I already had my break before you called earlier."

"Well take another one. I haven't seen you in a week! Even when we were still fighting that was a long time!" Shizuo's voice was steadily getting louder as his anger boiled up.

"I'll take a break when I'm done, Shizu-chan! You need to stop worrying so much!"

There was a moment when Izaya thought that Shizuo might have given up because he suddenly became very quiet. Izaya was about to turn his head to see what Shizuo was up to when he felt Shizuo's hand lightly grip one side of his head while his lips pressed against the other.

"Take a break and I'll stop worrying." Shizuo said quietly. "Just do it for me?"

"Have I taught you nothing? That might work on other people, but it doesn't work on me!"

"Fine." Shizuo said simply, moving to stand behind Izaya's chair. "Just keep working then."

He wasn't stupid. Shizuo was up to something, and he made that painfully obvious in the way he spoke, but Izaya ignored him and went back to work.

Less than a minute later, Izaya felt Shizuo's hands rest on his shoulders making Izaya pause his typing for a second, but he quickly resumed.

That is, until Shizuo's thumbs started rubbing small circles at the base of his neck…

Now _that's_ distracting.

Izaya's typing began to steadily slow down as Shizuo applied more pressure, which didn't go unnoticed by the blonde.

"If I keep going, will you eventually just stop working?" Shizuo said with a small laugh.

Izaya on the other hand had to suppress a moan when Shizuo's thumbs traveled just a little bit lower.

That. That felt almost _too_ good.

Abruptly, Izaya stopped typing. "Okay, Shizu-chan, I'll take a break as long as you—Ah!"

Shizuo dug his thumbs into the base of Izaya's neck.

"Just… Just keep doing that…" Izaya said quietly.

Shizuo did as he was told and continued rubbing along Izaya's shoulders only to stop abruptly when Izaya let out a small whimper of pain.

"Izaya? Are you okay?" Shizuo asked, his voice thick with concern.

"Y-yeah… Can you feel a bump or something there?"

"Where? Here?" Shizuo asked lightly touching the base of Izaya's neck.

Izaya shook his head in response. "Lower."

Shizuo lightly trailed his hand down between Izaya's shoulder blades, pausing when Izaya winced from the touch.

"There." He said, lightly gritting his teeth at the pain.

Gently feeling around, Shizuo noticed a small lump just to the left of Izaya's right shoulder blade.

"Yeah, there's something there… What is it?"

"Probably a knot…" Izaya said with a sigh, "Shizu-chan… Could you…?"

"How do I…?" Shizuo trailed off, noticing the way Izaya winced every time he touched the knot.

"Just rub at it or something. That should do it." Izaya suggested.

"Umm... Do you think we could move this to the couch then? I can't reach all that well around this chair…"

After a moment's pause, Izaya stood and slowly made his way to the couch where he proceeded to make himself comfortable lying on his stomach. Shizuo followed him, seating himself next to Izaya's legs before searching for the spot again. When he saw Izaya flinch, he knew he had found it.

"If it hurts just from this, won't it hurt to rub it?" Shizuo wondered aloud.

There was a soft grunt from Izaya before he spoke. "Yes, but it'll hurt longer if I leave it."

Shizuo carefully pressed down on the small bit of tense muscle, trying his best not to make it hurt more than it needed. If the grimace on Izaya's face was anything to go by, it must really hurt.

Holding his breath, Izaya tried not to focus on the sharp pain where Shizuo was pressing. As the pressure increased, Izaya could feel a jolt of pain shoot from the knot that almost seemed to travel down his spine. He could feel Shizuo begin to rub circles around the spot until suddenly the tension released. Izaya slowly let out the breath he was holding as he relaxed a bit.

"I think I got it…" He heard Shizuo say above him as he continued to lightly rub around the area. Shizuo began feeling around Izaya's shoulders until another wince caught his attention. "More?"

"Nnnhh… I guess so…" Izaya said weakly.

"Take your shirt off." Shizuo stated.

"Mmm? Is Shizu-chan getting a little frisky?"

"No, you idiot, I'm going to look for more of those knot-things!" Shizuo defended.

Izaya simply smiled as he sat up and removed his shirt, cringing in pain a bit as he did so. Once he was lying down again, Shizuo went back to work feeling for the small lumps of tension along Izaya's upper back.

Each time Shizuo massaged a knot, Izaya could feel the tension dissipate along with the pain he had been feeling earlier while working. Three knots later, Izaya let his eyes slip closed as Shizuo continued gently moving his hands across his back, pressing slightly harder on the areas where the knots had been. Gradually, Izaya began to relax a little more as the last traces of pain disappeared from his body while the pleasant massaging continued.

Letting out a small contented sound, Izaya took a slow deep breath when Shizuo began moving down to his lower back, pressing his thumbs down Izaya's spine as he did so. Izaya could feel Shizuo's fingers work out the tension there too as he moved his hands in an outward motion starting at his spine and moving out to his sides. Izaya nearly moaned aloud when Shizuo used his palms to run his hands up from his lower back all the way up to his neck and shoulders where he lightly rubbed again before repeating the process.

About ten minutes passed with Izaya practically melting into the couch every time Shizuo pressed just a little bit harder, while his eyes grew heavier with every passing second.

"Shizu-chan…" Izaya mumbled, "You're gonna put me to sleep…"

"Good." Shizuo said without stopping his ministrations, "You could use it."

He held on to consciousness for as long as possible, not wanting to miss out on the relaxing sensation of Shizuo's hands working the muscles in his back, but he gave in when Shizuo trailed his hands up along his neck and into his hair where he continued to lightly massage the back of his head.

Shizuo smiled as Izaya's breathing evened out completely signifying that he had indeed fallen asleep. He gradually lightened the pressure until he was sure Izaya wouldn't wake up when he stopped. With a small sigh, Shizuo sat back on the couch next to Izaya's head, eyes traveling up and down the pale skin of Izaya's torso.

Maybe he'd try something like this more often… Izaya really seemed to enjoy it. Well, enough to make him stop working, which to Shizuo meant he must have _really_ needed it.

Seeing Izaya so exhausted reminded him that he was fairly tired as well. Resting his head on his shoulder, Shizuo dozed off while still sitting upright.

…~-~…

Shizuo awoke to a weight on his lap, looking down to find Izaya lying on his back across his legs. There was a light grin on his face as Shizuo woke up and took notice of him.

"Shizu-chan fell asleep too, huh?" Izaya said, snuggling up against Shizuo.

"Yeah, I guess I was tired too." Shizuo said more to himself than to Izaya. "So now what? You're not going to go back to work already, are you?"

Izaya seemed to consider this for a moment. "Nah, it can wait. You want to just stay in and watch a movie or something?"

"That sounds great." Shizuo responded, lightly running his fingers through Izaya's hair again. He loved the way that the act never failed to make Izaya's eyelids flutter closed as he leaned in to the touch.

"Mmm… Okay." He mumbled, lifting himself off the couch.

Roughly an hour later, the pair was situated comfortably on the couch with half lidded eyes hardly paying any attention to the movie. Shizuo was lounging with his legs stretched out along the couch with Izaya lying on top of him, his head resting on Shizuo's chest.

Shizuo lightly traced circles along Izaya's exposed hip, while Izaya focused on listening to the steady beating of Shizuo's heart. Over the past six months, this is how they usually ended up when Shizuo came over, and Izaya had to admit, he really couldn't think of why he'd ever believe that living a life of solitude was better than this. He had always loved this man, and looking back Izaya couldn't understand why he had denied himself this for so long.

And as Shizuo wrapped his arms loosely around Izaya's small frame, he couldn't help but feel certain that this was all that mattered right now, and all of those clients that had been bothering him all week could go screw themselves. Izaya was happy—_truly_ happy—and after so many years, he felt as if he had found the second half to his heart that he didn't even know was missing.

**The End**

…~-~…

**THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR READING, AND FOR MAKING THIS MY FIRST STORY TO HIT 100 REVIEWS! I LOVE YOU ALL!**

**Quick update:**

**I have two fics in mind at the moment, one of which is probably going to be a quick IzaKida one-shot, but the other… Well the other is the brainchild of me and a good friend of mine that we've wanted to write for nearly a year now… So… I've decided I'm going to get on that, and it will probably be the longest story I've ever written… :D**

**So, until next time, goodbye! **


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